Brain Food #766: The pause before the start
New beginnings and the sweetness of anticipation
Thoughts of the day
The end of August and subsequent arrival of September bring with it that in-between moment of being neither in summer nor in autumn, neither on holiday nor in the full immersion of new or old responsibilities that are waiting; of being on the brink of new beginnings, like the feeling of holding your breath in anticipation of what might happen next, when the possibilities are more than what time will truly allow.
New beginnings tend to start when there is a natural ‘landmark’ in life: another year, another birthday, a new city, a new job. But most starts are considered so because they come from a point of no motion, otherwise they would be mere continuations. Perhaps that is why people begin to escape from the sea to the stillness of the mountains and the lakes. Like the moment between exhalation and inhalation, there is a hidden value in the pause before the start.
And, the sweetness of anticipation becomes as sweet as the sweetness of tasting the honey itself:
“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”
― A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
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