I got an email today, someone I love talking about being “45 and starting over.”  It made me think of all the times I have done it, called a do-over, begun again.

Photo by Steven Depolo

1. I married at 18 and moved to Arizona.
2. I moved back to Oregon and got unmarried.
3. I moved in with my mom and dad and went back to college, (a change inspired by the loss of my friend Heather).
4. I moved to Colorado and married Eric.
5. We moved back to Oregon and I went back to school, again.
6. We moved to Colorado, again, and I went to graduate school.
7. I got out of a bad work situation and started working on myself, (inspired by the loss of my dog Obi and my friend Kelly).

Lucky seven?  There are a few things after all this practice that I know are true when it comes to making changes, starting over:

• I am already whole, (all of us are).  I am not a problem to be fixed, or a project to take on.  “Improving” or healing are about becoming what I already am.  My friend Courtney wrote a blog post the other day about the same kind of thing, “Not Fixing.”  In it, she says “Say goodbye to the wrench and screw driver approach to your healing. You don’t need fixing. You have all that you need inside you for your healing to take place.” Thank you.  Amen.

• To practice “self-help” does not mean that I have to change who I essentially am, but rather be true to who I am.  To change, I make a commitment to manifesting that which is fundamental about myself, my basic goodness and wisdom.  What I do let go of in this process are habits, and actions or thoughts that no longer serve me, (that probably never served me the way I expected, the way I needed). “The purpose of our practice is just to be yourself.” ~Shunryu Suzuki

I get daily emails from Jo Ann at The Receiving Project and today’s was “You cannot run away from yourself. The sooner you stop trying, the sooner you can begin to bring love and compassion to yourself. The sooner you can embrace that which pains and transform it into that which loves.”

So, what am I looking to change? In a post that seems full of them, here’s another list, the list:

• To eat in a way that feeds a healthy body, not a sick and starving heart.
• To continue to write daily, with the intention of eventual publication, (beyond this blog).  The daily practice and public forum of my blog will manifest this in an organic manner.
• To be more settled, satisfied in my current paid work, or be financially able to let it go.
• To be financially fit, debt-free, simply living.  To have the ability to take care of needs, save, provide, share and gift, take the occasional vacation or bigger purchase without depending on long-term credit.  To have freedom without too much sacrifice.
• To become craftier, more hand-made, learn the skills of “my people”–farming, gardening, canning, baking bread, sewing, quilting, knitting, carpentry, car repair.
• To be vulnerable and brave, to let go of shame, pleasing, performing, and perfectionism.
• To repair my relationship with myself, and through that, repair my relationships with others.
• Learn the ukelele and take voice lessons, giving my creativity and voice another outlet.
• Be more green, more simple, more careful, more mindful.
• Continue to develop my yoga and meditation practices, remaining open to the possibility of teaching, but not forcing it, allowing it to manifest naturally.
• Slow down, continue to be mindful about how I spend my time.
• Keep my eyes and heart open to great work, as I continue to do good work.
• Be aware of the ways I can grow deeper into myself, seek out those opportunities with kindness and wisdom.

My Mondo Beyondo class taught me that there is power in dreaming big, making a list of all the things you want and sharing it. “What happens when you give an unspoken wish a place to become a dream come true?”

If you are looking to begin again, start over, “be the change you want to see in the world,” you might want to read:

• “5 Common Obstacles to a Life of Wonderful Change, and How to Get Around Them” by Henrik Edberg, who writes The Positivity Blog.
• If you are an artist, you must read “There’s Already So Much Art.  Why Make Yours?” by Alison Gresik, “Life design agent for creatives. Ardent fiction writer. Dauntless wrestler of angels. Daydreaming wife & mama. Slow traveler.”
• Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net recently wrote a post called “The Single-Changing Method” that was very helpful to me.  It wasn’t the first place this past week that I heard the suggestion that you shouldn’t try to change more than one thing at a time.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~Anais Nin