Begin Again. And Again. And Again.

A few weeks ago, freshly into the new year and going a bit stir-crazy due to my children’s two-week hiatus from school, I packed them up for an impromptu museum trip. In an attempt to start 2026 on the right foot, while also making the most of our hour-long drive, I listened to a self-improvement podcast where I was delighted to hear one of the simplest, yet most profound, sound bites of my life.

The newly released episode of 10% Happier with Dan Harris featured an interview with prominent meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein (ep. 1,075). The topic was a list of short phrases, created by Goldstein, which serve as cornerstone teachings about meditation and mindfulness. The first on the list, which Harris refers to as “the granddaddy of them all”: just begin again.

Joseph Goldstein goes on to explain that as the mind wanders during meditation, the meditator can “just begin again.” But what I found most inspiring in this segment was when Dan Harris shared an insight he frequently teaches: “Getting lost and starting again is meditation. It is not an obstacle to overcome en route to proper meditation.”

Getting lost and starting again IS MEDITATION. That’s it. That’s what meditation is, in its entirety.

And it’s also incredible life advice.

When we lose our focus: just begin again.

When we fear we’ve strayed from the path (whatever our path may be): just begin again.

When we’ve trespassed against others: just begin again.

When we catch ourselves being slow to forgive: just begin again.

When we’ve gossiped, spoken instead of listened, judged too quickly, reacted from fear, or forgotten our worth: just begin again.

Unity’s Fourth Principle belief is that prayer and meditation are tools we can use to remember our divine nature. Meditation is simply the cycle of forgetting and remembering. We forget who we are and what our purpose is. Then we remember, and we begin again. And again. And again.

This can happen during an official process of meditation or prayer, as we intentionally sit in quiet contemplation. But it can also happen during moments of “micro-meditation”—those uncountable moments every day when our thoughts or actions stray, we catch ourselves, and we choose to begin again.

As you ease into the new year, I invite you to join me on this journey of beginning again. And again.