New Every Morning
Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain,
And, spite old sorrows,
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.
Susan Coolidge (1835-1905)
I stumbled across this poem a week or two ago and I’ve developed a habit of reading it every day. I tend to focus on certain aspects of the poem that speak to what I’m thinking and feeling at the moment. Overall, the poem is comforting, forgiving, and hopeful.
It starts off with the simple truth that everyday is a new beginning, a fresh start, with new possibilities and experiences. We all know this theoretically, but when was the last time you “listened” and took this truth into your soul and lived your life according to it?
The poem acknowledges that we also bring the past into the present and that it structures our present experiences and how we see the future. We carry the hurt we have suffered, the pain we have caused, the mistakes we have made, and losses we have endured. It tells us that we are not perfect and self-sufficient, but fragile and fallible, in need of compassion and forgiveness. It tells us that the future holds more suffering, loss, and mistakes. But, in the end, it accepts us for who we are, fragile, vulnerable beings living in a world that we cannot fully control. It’s this fragility that makes us human, that makes us who we are and how we see the world.
Yes, we have suffered and sinned, and yes there might be “troubles forecasted,” but we need to “take heart,” accept our own fragility, forgive ourselves, and learn from our experiences. We can use the past to mold our own souls and strive to be better people. We can build the strength to endure sorrow and loss. We can stop the cycle of pain we cause to people we love by accepting the fact that we did cause harm. We can be more accepting, forgiving and compassionate by acknowledging the fragility in others. This is hard work, something that can’t be done in a day, but it’s necessary for living a full human life. Every day is a new opportunity to grow and experience life. So, please “take heart with the day and begin again.”