Change Is A Blessing In Disguise
If you are reading this, you either agree whole heartedly, or you are skeptical, and want to find out by what logic I could possibly embrace unbidden change.
We like our comfort zone, don’t we? We don’t wake up praying for our boat to be rocked. True enough. The paradox is that while we typically don’t go looking for what we consider the “undesirable” type of change, when it comes to us, if we open our spirit, we find that it is a catalyst for something positive, once we dig ourselves out of the initial reactions of heartache, disappointment, anger, resentment, jumping up and down, and so forth. It’s the silver lining or what I call the blessing in disguise that a change can bring into our lives.
Imagine, what if our starting point were acceptance and curiosity about what that “undesirable” change can teach us, rather than fear or resistance? Imagine, what if we faced change with confidence that we can handle it and grow from it? Imagine, what if we drew on our endless life changes to remind us that everything is constantly moving?
Each of us has plenty of experience to draw upon, so why do we allow ourselves to get so stressed with change and the unknowns that it brings? Why do we always assume the worst? After all, didn’t you adapt to leaving home as a child to go to kindergarten, then elementary school, then junior high and from there, high school? Didn’t you adapt to the many changes that came your way as you journeyed from childhood, to youth, to adulthood? Just take a moment and think about all the challenging changes you have faced and managed. Let that be a comfort and source of strength as you navigate through unexpected change you might not initially like one bit.
We invest so much energy wanting to return to the way things were when faced with a change that we believe we did not choose or that we did not bring upon ourselves. This attitude reflects a believe that the “old” normal is better than what the change will produce in your life! Much grief and wasted time has come from this assumption. What if we just stayed with the present moment of what is happening, seeing it through to a new equilibrium rather than swimming against the current wanting to maintain the status quo? If you just scan back to any difficult change you had to face in your life, can you honestly say, nothing good came of it in the long run? Can you honestly say, you learned nothing from the experience?
Having things go back to the way they were is like saying you want to go back to your state of unawareness before the change rolled in to your life! It you allow yourself to be transformed by the change, if you allow the change to be an opportunity to expand and gain insight, then the next step is to embrace what has happened instead of fighting it. Try not to deny the goodness that unplanned change is offering you. Have some hope and faith. Once you can come to a place of calm when faced with change, you will feel a tremendous sense of self-empowerment.
You can explore your relationship with change through meditations. I would encourage you to try these meditations several times over a period of two or three weeks. You will find an added benefit to sitting with the subject of change more than once. After each meditation, capture your insights in writing. Over time, as you repeat these meditations, you will gain new insights and new strength to adapt more willingly to unplanned change.