“Oh, I HATE change!” she said.
And she shook her head and she closed her eyes and shuddered again. “Hate it!”
“Really?” I said, “Because change sure loves you.”
Change loves you. Look at how change is always present in your life, swirling around you and taking you in new directions. Change wants you to notice what’s happening right now. Change points out the infinite possibilities in each new moment.
Change wants to keep you from dwelling in the past (which is a dream) and from fretting about the future (also a dream) and keep you right here, in the gift of the present moment.
And the present moment is our one big chance to create something new. Our ability to make something out of apparent nothingness is miraculous. But it is only possible thanks to change.
And change is so forgiving. If we miss our chance to change a minute ago, here change is again, fresh as ever. Sometimes change shows off with a fabulous sunset or a look from a stranger across a crowded room or a big, unmistakable transition like a birth or a death, but mostly change just dwells right here with us in each heartbeat.
Feel that? Each breath is change. Each meal, each step, each smile – we are ever-transforming. Things may feel the same, but it’s an illusion, like gazing at a stream or a waterfall, which appears static but is actually nothing but movement.
So: with us all the time…located in the present moment…contains infinite possibilities…forgiving…eternal…generative, creative…omnipresent…
Change is not just good: change is God.
Let me say that another way —
Change is not just good: change is the presence of the Divine.
Now, I don’t believe that the Divine cares how you feel about It. The Divine just keeps being the Divine whether you believe or don’t believe, notice or don’t notice, call It by one name or another name or don’t call on It at all.
But I find my life goes more smoothly when I cooperate. And when I quit trying to have control over that which I clearly have no control. Much like arguing with gravity, hating change is rather a futile effort. Better, maybe, to allow the laws of gravity to support you, and to allow the laws of change to enlighten you and to reveal more love to you, so that you may be in closer relationship with the Divinity of every beautiful, fleeting moment.
I love change — in fact my problem is the opposite. I get bored with a location, a task, a room full of furniture, and then I crave change! But that can (okay, DOES) lead to lots of started and unfinished projects, unfinished learning (including attending 6 colleges — and yes I do have several degrees, but no two are in the same subject!), who-knows-how-many started-but-never-filled-journals …you get the idea.
So for me, the Patron Saint of Change is ever-present. Now if I could just find the Patron Saint of Focus…..
And you know, Lindsay, there are those who say that completion is overrated. I often find that I’ve put down a project halfway through because, honestly, I’d already gotten what I needed out of the experience. I used to feel terrible about not finishing books (as though I were somehow being disloyal to the author) but now I think it’s just fine. And especially for “process projects” like journals – I think it’s not only fine to not finish them, I think it’s fine to throw them away! After all – they exist to support you in your process. Once you’re through, you’re allowed to be done. Old vision boards can go, too.
And Focus…yes! Perhaps that can be my next blog post….hmmmm….
Thanks for writing!
Ah yes … I’ve long realized that the only ‘constant’ we can count on is ‘change’ … though I’m not always happy about that because I’m a creature of habit in many ways. However, like Lindsay I seek out change because I love to learn new things and have new experiences (mostly on my own terms). I don’t much like changes ‘forced’ upon me by others or circumstance … but I’ve learned to calm myself by breathing and allowing myself to trust that ‘all things work together for good’ and ‘things come to pass, not to stay’ … so thanks for this powerful reminder Samantha. You are so wise and generous … and since ‘focus’ has long been and remains an issue for me, I look forward to you sharing your insights on that topic as well.
Hugs and blessings,
Virginia