Change scares me (I’ve written about this before) – I like to know and control what’s coming in my life. I crave predictability because it gives me a sense of calm. This is an aspect of my well documented “peace at any price” habit that has defined success for me as how much calm there is in my life and relationships. Change has been the enemy of calm, and therefore something to be avoided – or at least tightly controlled so the outcome is well known in advance. Of course, change is unavoidable.
For me, realizing and accepting that change is unavoidable is a challenge.
What I am beginning to understand lately is that Change is Opportunity. Within change lies the opportunity to learn, to grow, to become more than I am now. I have perceived change as an opportunity only for loss, and change can certainly result in not having what you once had, but it is also the moment for growth.
When my Mother passed, it was a devastating change for me at the time, and it was also an extraordinary opportunity to grow. To be honest I’m not even sure how that growth kicked off – at the time it sure didn’t feel like an opportunity for anything other than loss. Now with the benefit of time and training, I can see truths and connections from that time to now, and even before that time to what is to come.
For a very long time I have placed cloaks and disguises on Change to make it appear scary, but the labels of “good” and “bad” have been placed there by me. Change just is change. The Universe is in motion whether I like it or not, and change is the outcome of motion – change is how the Universe accomplishes anything and everything.
I can no longer be afraid of change, and instead I am starting to embrace Change as a best friend – as an opportunity.
All I have to do is to want to grow, to become aware of the opportunities for growth, and dive into them..
The challenge now is to flow with the changes in my life in a far more intentional way. The river of life is constantly changing and moving – and no amount of effort on my part will ever keep me in exactly the same place. Instead of resisting change and wildly swimming against the current to try to stay in one place (which doesn’t work anyway), I can either let the current carry me, or exert some control and direction by making a few well timed swimming strokes here and there.
What The Practice is doing for me is letting me know when the right time is to swim, and in what direction, to most efficiently achieve real success – getting closer to the real me, while avoiding a few bumps along the way.
