Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

A journey of thousand miles must begin with a single step.  At 3 AM the first right step is to get 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep.  Fall into the sleep-abyss and wake up, feeling like those cheesy drug-induced commercials with a butterfly.  Why do they say: ‘I got butterflies in my stomach’?  They should change it to ‘giving birth to porcupine through rectum’ or ‘having a bat hanging off my throat’ or ‘beehive just exploded in my chest’…  It’s not 4 AM yet.  I’m off the clock.  I’m off the radar.  I’ve been off the grid.

Leaving my last employment was tough.  Saying good bye and good luck to my friends, team and colleagues was really tough.  Writing a going away email was tough – so much to say  to so many (below, this email went out to hundreds of my friends and colleagues):

/***

My dear friends & colleagues,

Choosing the right theme was relatively easy/ier.  Because I knew that it was a new dawn and new life for me.  The song came naturally.

Nine amazing months.  Family, friends, freedom and a wonderful “blank canvas”.  Thoughts enter freely, stay, leave, mature or not – blank canvas.  Feelings are more meaningful.  Purpose – clearer.  Time – cherished and endless.

Mark Twain: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.”

Today is the first day of the rest of my life (my good friend Adam gave me a going away card with this very text on it – still have the card, thank you, my friend).  Entering the new tomorrow.  The new today.  Turning the page.  The future isn’t what it used to be.

The delivery room.  Push, breath, push, breath, and push again.  Ain’t gonna come out on it’s own.  Push again.  Do the work.  Today is the first day of the rest of my life.  I wake as a child.  (Sometimes I sleep like a child: I wake up every 2 hours and cry 🙂 )

Today is the first day
Of the rest of my life.
I wake as a child
To see the world begin.

On monarch wings
And birthday wonderings.
Want to put on faces.
Walk in the wet and cold.
And look forward to my growing old.
To grow is to change.
To change is to be new.
To be new is to be young again.
I barely remember when
My memories are stolen by the morning.
Blotted out by the suns hypnotic eye.

Today is the first day
Of the rest of my life.
I wake as a child
To see the world begin.

On monarch wings
And birthday wonderings.
Want to put on faces.
Walk in the wet and cold.
And look forward to my growing old.

On an unrelated note: I have no idea who this Andranik Aleksananian is, how old, where from (too lazy to do a search this early/late), but God, what a voice!