Starting Again Today

On the day that you lift your heart to return to Hashem, throw off all of your aveiros as if they never were. Consider yourself as a newborn child, having neither merit nor culpability. Today is the beginning of your actions. Today you will reflect on all of your ways… This outlook will facilitate your complete return to Hashem because you will be unburdened from the weight of all of your aveiros.

Do not be hindered by thoughts that hold you back from returning to Hashem. You might feel, “How can I have the nerve to return to Hashem, after I acted so inappropriately so many times? How can I come before Hashem? I feel embarrassed, like a thief who was caught in the act of stealing… How can I observe His mitzvos?”

Do not allow these negative thoughts to enter your heart! These feelings of despair are the influence of the yetzer hara.

(Yesod HaTeshuvah)