Earlier this month, twin fawns were born in our back yard.  While I missed the blessed event in progress, I had the amazing opportunity to see babies who were less than an hour old.  They wobbled and fell.  They leaned on mom as she licked them clean.  They nuzzled and sucked. Then they wobbled some more.  

 As I watched, I was moved to reflect.  These tiny beings were brand new to the larger world.  Their bright eyes looked around with wonder and curiosity. They wobbled away from the safety of the womb without fear, checking out plants and rocks and dirt with fresh perspective, open to whatever their new environment had to offer.

 A conversation earlier that day had centered on "baggage."  We had talked long and with difficulty about decades of experience, decisions, and events that had come to color the way we see and feel about today.  We talked about the freedom of fresh beginnings, and asked what it would take to make a fresh start, with or without changing external circumstances. 

 In researching the topic of stress for another essay series, I have been reading about mindfulness training in Jon Kabat Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living.  I am re-taking his 8-week program of guided meditations and yoga exercises. I also signed up for an online class with Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron.  These varied sources of insight and inspiration converge to reinforce a common theme:  Strive to view each day, each moment with fresh perspective. Release long-standing, mal-adaptive habits of thought, emotion, and action in favor of a fresh alternative. 

 I posted a photo of the twin fawns on Facebook.  I set the intention of seeing things differently in my own life.  I committed to rebirth within the context of my personal baggage and ineffective habits.  I savor the metaphor of tiny eyes looking out on a new world with trust and wonder, tiny legs wobbling as they explore with fearless curiosity.  

 How do you renew your perspective when old thought and feeling habits are not working well?  Have you developed skills for starting fresh without changing your external circumstances?