How often do you get a fresh start? How often do you wish you could get a fresh start?

Fresh starts are hard to come by, as it is very difficult to just erase what was previously ingrained in your mind and the minds of others.  Sitting in temple on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, the rabbi began to read a passage written by Rabbi Rami Shapiro about new beginnings.

Normally, I sit and listen to the passages and think oh, that was nice or oh, that was boring and ok maybeeeee sometimes I end up zoning out just a teensy bit.  For some reason, this one really spoke to me.  Maybe because of how much my life has changed recently, starting college and living on my own for the first time, or maybe it would have resonated with me at any other point in my life.

The passage is called “Head Changing Day” and it is all about clearing your head before the new year.  (It’s super short and I HIGHLY recommend you read it!)  I loved the way the rabbi spoke about the stories we keep stored in our memories. The way we remember events is so telling of who we are as people and what you choose to remember is up to nobody but yourself.  The rabbi says that the best way to go into a new year is to change heads, and the only way to have a new head is to be “story-free”.  By this he means taking a step back and really evaluating the stories you keep with you.  If they are weighing you down and causing you to be anything but humble and happy, stop telling those stories and use the new year to make new ones.

I loved this passage because every year I like to think I’m starting over with a blank slate, but I never have. I never have really cleared my head with the new year. I always keep the baggage of the past years with me, somehow expecting that things can be different.  But as the Rabbi says, you can’t have a new head with the same old stories in it.

Of course this doesn’t mean go and forget every good memory you have, it just means that we should all try to keep an open mind about everything, despite any past experiences we might have had.

So with that said, its a new year, and hopefully I’ll figure out how to change heads at least a little bit.  Happy New Year (שנה טובה)!