Beginning Again

It’s kind of remarkable, right? That every moment we have the chance to wipe the slate clean and start over? But really, what if you could? All your mistakes, shortcomings, judgements, *poof* gone. How? Starting over. By cultivating your mind to make this moment the basis of your life. Did you screw some shit up? Begin again. Succeed or fail at your goals?  Begin again. Treated unjustly, discriminated against, chronic illness, down and out,  Begin again. Stand still. Begin again.

To be in a state of perpetual new beginnings; seeing and experiencing the world with new eyes, new ears, a new heart, all the time! This is the state of enlightenment said to have been achieved by Siddhartha Gautama while sitting under the Bodhi tree, before he was given the title of Buddha. The basis of Zen - to begin anew every moment as if this moment is all there is. In Christianity, to “become like little children" and enter the kingdom of heaven.

What am I talking about? I was introduced to this practice when I first sat down to learn formal meditation. Now if you’re not enlightened, like me, I’m sure you know what it’s like to have an overactive mind. I would sit down, try to clear my thoughts, focus on my breath and then it would happen; an inkling of a thought would wisp past me. Maybe my posture felt off, my foot was going numb, maybe I remembered something I had forgotten to do. One thought would lead to another, I would get discouraged, my breathing would get shallow, more thoughts, more noise and on and on. This persisted, until I realized, “Wait! I can start over?” I can turn off all that other stuff and run my own soft reset? Not to simply ignore or forget what was learned in the past, but to experience it fully while conditioning my mind to make this moment the basis of my life. 

Enter, this blog. I’ve always enjoyed writing. At times, i've been discouraged to keep a journal because my thoughts would come faster than my pencil could write. It wasn’t until I turned 16 that I started a daily blog, (on none other than MySpace). It was often just a photo with a brief, probably ridiculous paragraph or two about my current mental, physical or emotional state. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was a creative outlet I needed then. Sharing that which wants to be shared is part of why we’re here. To connect, to open up and be vulnerable, to experience, create, witness and be a gosh dang goof ball sometimes.

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I suppose you could say that there is a lot I’d like to share with you. And it will come in time. But to bring this full circle, my name is Alex and I am currently in the middle of a project to run on every street in my hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the ‘Eau Claire Project’ began at the stroke of midnight, January 1st, 2021. The quintessential new beginning. It wouldn’t be until June 7th, 2021 that I actively started pursuing this goal - [to “run on every street” in Eau Claire means starting from my downtown apartment, I aim to run on every street, bridge, park, stairwell, cemetery road and trail within the city limits of Eau Claire, Wisconsin before 23:59:59, December 31st, 2021.] 

*Alley ways and parking lots are not included, but let’s try to get some a those too, yeah?

Calling Eau Claire “home” has made this project deeply meaningful to me, as you’ll see in the following entries. To accomplish this goal is to stay healthy, to actively engage my community through movement and action. And of course, to begin again and see the world with a new perspective rooted in love and appreciation for everyone and everything.

WOOF, that’s heavy. But it’s real. And this is the beginning of that!