In every phenomenon the beginning remains always the most notable moment. •Thomas Carlyle•
One thing I’ve learned, through both painful and positive experience, is that the successful flourishing of any project, product, event… or person, is seeded right at the beginning. Imagine setting off in a boat with the intention of sailing to a distant island, but having miscalculated your route by even just a tiny degree: everything will seem fine and dandy for awhile, maybe even for days. But as those tiny degrees of misdirection exponentially add up over many miles, you will at some point realize you are ending up far from where you wanted to be.
A mantra from chaos theory goes, “Sensitive dependence on initial conditions.”
This applies whenever something new is brought into being: cookies, crops, houses, stories, songs, sweaters, people. And websites. Now, this understanding could inspire anxiety and the tendency to never begin anything, knowing how important and far-reaching beginnings are. <Indeed—I’m feeling a little “eek” energy as I prepare to launch this new site…> But a little digging into the research about what makes for auspicious beginnings can transform anxiety to empowerment.
Let me take a cue from the #1 of the Parenting for Peace principles I’ve just spent over six years writing about—Presence: Marcy, just show up, be authentic, and let that be reflected here. So, that is the intention with which I’m charting this new cyber-journey: to be here as I am, and to meet you as you are, and be present to whatever emerges from that!
Tags: beginnings, initial conditions, presence
It seems to me there are very few situations where authenticity doesn’t go a very long way! It pputs others at ease, builds trust, and opens up communication.
Nicely put. I always try and keep my sights set on my ‘final destination’ (though I may never reach what’s in my head) and my next step. If I lose track of either, that tiny degree was the cause.
I’m so intrigued by the description of your book and the profound analogy of this blog post – I can’t wait to buy the book and learn more. So grateful that Amy at Natural Baby Pros is bringing you to San Diego to connect with moms who want to raise peacemakers.