© 2013 Jenny Kacirk Lisenbee; used with permission
One of the things that is a constant in life is change. While we all know this, we forget.
I forget, over and over and over again. I am always surprised when things change, even though intellectually I know that change IS the constant.
I somehow feel that I should achieve this thing, this balance, this stasis, as if expecting that is completely normal. And then I’m bushwhacked when it all falls apart. Neighbors move, people die, my favorite social media platform gets an update… whatever it is, it’s shocking every time, and I feel sad.
But why?
I think in our culture we tend to expect things to stay the same, that achieving A Goal is what life is all about. Instead of savoring the process, we are constantly thinking ahead to the end result.
And yet, every minute of every day our body is changing, sloughing off cells, growing new cells, aging a tiny bit. The earth is spinning, in constant motion around the sun, and the solar system is also moving.
I had thought I had achieved my perfect diet, only to be thrown a curve ball. And I had to change 75% of it. Others have to get a hip replacement, find out they have breast cancer, lose a loved one, say goodbye to foster children, send kids off to college.
I am trying to embrace change and no longer see it as the enemy.
Great post, so thought provoking! I would say I don’t like change, takes me ages to get used to something new. As I’m getting older I’m trying more to embrace change more positively. I know I need to not take things for granted so much so that when the inevitable change happens there are less regrets!
Thanks Jayne, for this wonderful response. I really try not to take anything for granted either.
So well said, Stephanie. Yours is a most wonderful reminder for me to appreciate life’s flow – especially when I’m really enjoying it.
Thanks Jenny!
Hi Steph, well ok I will admit that all too often, my reaction to change, is to spaz :-). Like you, I’m trying to learn to better roll with it.
Thanks Vik, for your honesty!
Hmm. How do I handle change?
I don’t know that I do. But I can say I accept it. Once can know that change is the constant – however oxymoronic that sounds – but change may still surprise because we cannot see it in advance. So I guess I handle it by understanding its unavoidable and doing what I can as I experience it, but accepting that it is life and being alive.
Jim, thanks for the thoughtful comment. Acceptance, even embracing, is such a big part of change for me, yet I still have to remind myself it’s normal.
Stephanie ~ I love your new format & I am so proud of you & your awesome ability to embrace change! That is something I am keene to do as well ~ you go girl!
Thank you friend.