New Beginnings. And Cauliflower.

Don’t worry about being worried. You’re heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something else. -Tracy Kidder

Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. -Gilda Radner

It's January and 2012 is still full of hope and new beginnings. I came across an eclectic collection of inspirational quotes that I think are worth a read as we all venture forward.

http://ecosalon.com/40-quotes-on-new-beginnings-starts/

It's so easy, yet so hard, to start something new. Perhaps I have more time to think and reflect (not watching TV is probably the best thing that has happened to me in the last few months!), but it is truly amazing to see how many people in my life are working on new beginnings. Big or small, public or private, they are all significant and positive changes.

Promotions. Internships. Job changes. Training for races. Engagements. Marriages. New relationships. Ending relationships. Babies. Friendships. Rekindling friendships. Joining a bowling league. Buying houses. Remodeling. Cleaning out closets and basements. Hitting milestone birthdays. Finding balance in life. Picking up new hobbies. Rediscovering old hobbies. Revising goals and plans. Graduations. Hairstyles. Phones.

These are the types of beginnings and changes that make up the stories of our lives. I love stories (and gossip I suppose...) because I love characters. This is why I love to read. And watch TV. Characters are out living their lives -- making mistakes and redirecting paths. A lot of people focus on the bad things that happen in life (GOSSIP!), but I've been finding true joy in learning about the happy news.

I surround myself with books and characters that I know, but I soon know their fate and their endings. It's so utterly exciting to watch real people's lives unfold. When I went through my first (of many) quarter-life crises, I told anyone that would listen that I just wanted to fast forward time until I was a grandma. Because then everything would have been figured out. Now, I know that I would be missing all of the fun stuff (albeit hard stuff) and that there's still plenty of stuff to still experience later in life. I suppose that I'm just really excited to see how it all turns out for me and all of you. Too bad we can't just flip to the epilogue.

Keep me posted on your happy new beginnings :)

P.S. This realize this is kind of a bunch of all-over-the-place-random thoughts-mumbo jumbo that could be expressed in a much clearer and concise manner. But I don't feel like it!

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Well, before I came across that article, I was actually going to write about cauliflower. Yep. This is my new favorite vegetable. It came into my life on a couple of different fronts and I think it's there to stay. To be honest, I just buy the frozen cauliflower. And I eat it plain. I can't believe I never ate this lovely veggie until just a couple of months ago.

Need an easy new beginning? Try cauliflower.