Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished. Stop being who you were and change into who you are.

Paulo Coelho

I think about this all the time. Who am I now, with my old life stripped away…the love I shared my life with, the house we lived in, the boy I prayed for every night, the garden and work I put my heart and hands to every day.

All of these defining cherished things that once shaped my identity, melted back into the sand.

For a while after, my life was suspended in the slack tide. It was, and I was, a stillness.

And then the tide rolled in again, bringing unexpected offerings to shape who I am now…a new love, a new little house, a small and different garden, and work if I should choose it…work that would come from my soul, pouring out from my heart.

Work that would find itself in words.

Who knows, the tide might yet bring someone else, sometime soon, where the boy once was. Perhaps a new friend, a mentor, or an extension of my family to offer joy. Someone who will over time, occupy meaningful space in my redefining world.

The only thing I know right now, as this next chapter begins, is that I can’t hold or keep anything I cherish. These things belong to the tides. But I can experience them, in order to stay fully alive.

And who I am, is all the love remaining, anchored in my heart.