Rebirth and renewal have many similarities yet they can be distinctly different. Rebirth suggests a completely new beginning. Being reborn implies a religious conversion, an event so awe-inspiring, tragic, or shocking that it completely transforms one’s perception of the world and one’s place in it. Renewal is a form of reinvigorating or recharging, implying a renewed energy or interest in pursuing something. Both events inspire a sincere change in behavior and attitude towards life.
Life is filled with transitions, time frames, roles, setbacks, aging, shocks, and surprises that alter our interpretation of events and experiences. We choose how to react to these events and our reactions shape our behavior. Having spent over twenty years in education, I have heard the reoccurring theme of, “how do we teach and model grit, fortitude, researched and informed choice, and resilience?” Renewal and rebirth are optimistic, hopeful terms that imply a new start or positive transition in thinking and action as a consequence of life’s experiences.
It is often setbacks, disappointments, and even opportunities that force/lead us to a point of seeking renewal or perhaps a feeling of rebirth. Major events occur in everyone’s life such as: completing degrees and seeking jobs, marriage, births and the challenges of parenthood, deaths, divorce, promotions, losing a job, geographic moves, changes in health, caring for loved ones, and even the isolation of pandemics or social avoidance. If we choose to learn from each new experience and look for the opportunities they hold, we can work our way through the uncertainty and pain to a place of renewal, and in extreme cases, rebirth.
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”
Chinese Proverb
Renewal often requires a period of relaxation, reflection, and closing out the constant input from our media driven society. Emotional pain and discomfort often force us to seek renewal. Peace, quiet, contemplation, reflection, prayer, meditation, and conversation with trusted family or advisors is necessary to form a plan for renewal. When we think we have reached our very limits, we need to actively seek renewal. It does not come in the midst of noise and chaos. It requires reflection and careful thought. Gratitude is a necessary piece of renewal because it allows us to reflect on what our greatest gifts/skills/talents are, what lessons we have learned, how we benefitted from other’s support, and how we can creatively approach the future for our benefit and those around us.
Colorado College, as a liberal arts institution, is designed to give students a broad understanding of history, philosophy, economics, science, political science, culture, and literature. A wider and more varied understanding of the world, and your place in it, should better prepare students and graduates to create their own moments of rebirth and renewal to cope with our rapidly changing world. Colorado College taught me how to think on a deeper level and to ask many more questions than when I entered as a first-year student. The greatest skill I developed as a student was the skill of writing. It is the one skill that forces the author to examine one’s thinking, see if there is a logical progression, and look for gaps in one’s knowledge. Those are the very skills required for renewal and rebirth. As an adult, I have faced many points of renewal with three different careers, parenting, geographic moves, financial changes, supporting parents through aging issues, and coping with the isolating aspects of a pandemic. Each change required a period of renewal and redefining my role as a member of a family, a work environment, and a larger community.
As we all emerge from a period of COVID isolation, and possible reflection on our values and lifestyles, this is the ideal time for renewal and rebirth. Our reopening world allows us to re-examine priorities of work, family, and community. Let us actively renew our participation in the world around us and seek to be a positive influence at a time when it is so desperately needed.