Happy Sunday and a very Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I had my corned beef and cabbage (yes it was all Whole30 compliant) and that's about it for me, but I hope you all are out there having fun and staying safe, whatever your plans may be. With Saint Patrick's day coming to an end and Easter just around the corner it finally means Spring is almost here. If you live somewhere like I do where the snow seemed to be never ending this season I am sure you are just as happy about that as I am. Spring is a time for new beginnings. New growth on trees, new flowers emerge from the ground, animals come out of hibernation, etc. Sure we do things such as Spring cleaning too but what about other new beginnings?

I have mentioned closing doors many times on this page here. To be more specific I learned myself recently that it is perfectly fine to cut people out of your life if they are a toxic influence. You should never feel guilty closing that door if that is the best thing for you. I want to take the opposite route today and talk about opening new doors. There are plenty of ways new people come knocking at our doors in our lives. How do you react when that happens? Do you open the door right away and let that new relationship flourish? Or do you possibly lock the door and then the pad lock to keep them out? 

It is incredibly easy to just shut new people out of your life if you are scared of getting hurt. It only takes one or two toxic people in your life to cause you to start building up the walls around you, not letting anyone else come in. Trust me when I say that I have quite the past of doing that myself. If this sounds a lot like you I want you to take some time to think about why you started building those walls higher and higher in the first place. My guess is you put your trust in someone only to have them make you regret that. Part of cutting toxic people out of your life is realizing just how toxic they were in the first place. Sure it is a relief to regain your independence from them, but I never said they wouldn't leave scars. Once you recognize this, however, you are already well on your way to tearing those walls back down. I want you to do your best to realize that the door was closed for those people for good reason. The door closed on them because it needed to be able to open for new ones. Instead of opening it though are you locking it tighter? Think of the wonderful person that could be standing on the other side of that locked door.

I recently was able to see someone firsthand start to break down the walls they had built around them for a very long time. I want to respect their privacy and trust so I am not going to go into specific details at all. I will say this though- the result of that door finally being able to open seemed like a pretty beautiful thing. Relief from them finally allowing themselves to trust the other person as well as total happiness for the other person for finally being able to get through. I know wholeheartedly that they will not regret letting down that wall. When you finally are able to do the same I am sure the feelings will be similar. If you are keeping someone out, try your best to find the pros for letting them in. Look at the cons as well, but do so with a clear head not a head blinded by the past. A word of advice- asking "what if?" over and over is not a solid con. Open up your heart to those around you before it is too late. 

I am not going to lie, we do not live in a perfect world. Sometimes people that are let in hurt us. There are no guarantees in life at all. I can't of course promise you that you will not get burned in the future. You can absolutely be cautious of yourself, but my overall message is to not be too cautious. If you lock up your doors too tight you never know the wonderful person you may miss out on knowing and loving. A new beginning is on the other side of that door, and a beautiful friendship may be standing there, but much like a bus at a bus stop, it wont wait around forever. Do yourself a favor and don't let those people get away from you. Tear down your walls and let in the ones who fully deserve your time and affection. Open yourself up to the world and you are bound to find what you are looking for.