New Beginnings

Hello all, and welcome to the Spring 2016 semester!  Chi Sigma Iota has a lot to offer this semester, and we’ll be keeping you posted as things unfold.  Some of the events we’re involved with include Bowl for Kids’ Sake, Training for Counseling Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals, certified Gottman Therapist training, and the LGBTQ Ally March, among other growth-promoting opportunities.  I’m excited to see you all at these wonderful events!

As I begin the new semester there are a lot of moving pieces in my schedule, in my physical space, and in my heart.  New beginnings are often poignant for me as I move through life’s journey.  Beginning something indicates that there has been an ending somewhere else, and it signifies the open door through which we walk to new possibilities.

My “ending” as I moved into this semester was the conclusion of my journey to India with twelve of my friends, colleagues, and fellow seekers of life’s deeper spaces.   As many of you know, the study abroad program Exploring Counseling, Culture, and Spirituality in India took place over winter break, and it is a piece of this program that I had been eagerly awaiting since receiving my acceptance letter over a year and a half ago.  Suffice it to say that I was not let down, though the trip did not necessarily go as I had expected.

I’ve found that traveling great distances in physical space goes hand-in-hand with traveling great distances inward because of the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities that present themselves along the way.  Wading through seas of humans, animals, vehicles, garbage, temples, death, and life challenged my understanding of the world, and called into question the clarity of the lens through which I view my life.  India was the cultivator that tilled the soil of my past, and here on the other side I’ve come to a few realizations, which are illustrated in two snippets of work from Joseph Campbell (an author and scholar that Charles introduced me to on the trip… thanks Charles!):

1.     “I’ve been saying ‘no’ to life all my life, and I think I’d better begin saying ‘yes.’”

2.     “We have to learn to participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.”

As you all begin your semester I would encourage you to reflect on these quotes.  What have you been saying “no” to in your life?  What passion have you let slip to the wayside?  What dreams have you allowed to lay dormant in pursuit of experiences less fulfilling?  What experiences have you avoided for fear that you will fail or that others might judge you harshly for exploring?  My advice to you (and my advice to myself) is to get after life with a tenacious hunger for what you love.  Do what makes you happy, not what you think others want you to do.

The second quote comes in handy when we fall flat on our face chasing those dreams.  Each time our expectations are shattered there is an opportunity dig deep and discover what we’re made of.  Joy is possible in those seemingly sorrowful moments when we had high hopes for something and it falls through.  It’s my personal belief that every moment has meaning, and those moments of struggle have a particularly important message to deliver if we open our hearts to it.  I wish you all a meaningful semester, however that might look for you!

Peace,

Anthony