Do You Have Any Change?

Transitions and change are often the most painful, sometimes frightening. Often the most troubled lives are the most unyielding to change. When we become so ardently committed to stability that we cannot flow with the never ending river of life, we wither and spiritually – we die. Every one of us has changes moving beneath the surface and we only vaguely sense it. Others are obvious and we deal with their effects. When we see change only as a problem or as a pain, we have a harder time moving on with our lives.

Throughout our lives we repeatedly make attachments and lose them. We want to defiantly say “No! If I can’t have things stay the same, I’ll take nothing at all!”

Most of us have, at some time, wished we could outmanoeuvre life with such a power play. The loss can feel so painful we might think holding back our love will save us pain. But holding back brings a greater unhappiness. However, when we submit to it, life is generous in its countless forms. Each attachment, each loss is followed by regeneration and more attachment. Loss and death itself are a part of life. There is a certain peace in accepting and living without reservation in the cycle of the seasons.

We can step beyond our self imposed limits and accept the possibility of the unknown. There are many of us who always tried to be rational, logical, to trust only what could be understood or reasoned through. That attempt served the part of us that likes to control, to have power, but it keeps us from unknown possibilities and dreams.

When we decide to be less controlling we can begin to believe in possibilities that we did not allow before, in that allowing we can be open to often surprising change.

We are able to mourn our losses and grieve for what we leave behind before greeting what comes next. The change we experience can bring a similar response and in doing so we can move on to the next season of our lives.