Leaves change. My youngest son’s voice is changing. Google’s logo changed. Politician’s views on issues change (all-the-time).
All things in life change. Somedays I wonder…if I have the courage to accept the change that is happening in my life….
Do you?
(Click on the video above to hear song.)
As a child, I moved a lot. 3 elementary schools. 1 junior high (Whoo-Hoo!). And 3 High schools. As a child, I had no choice but to change. My address. My school. My friends. My sense of self. I didn’t know there were any other options. We change as a child often because we don’t know there is an alternative. We are not in control of our here & now, so we change as a result of what we are forced to accept in our life.
Some of the changes were hard. Changing school & states in the middle of my junior year of high school wasn’t what anyone would necessarily say as ideal or preferred. At points, it was miserable. My parents apologized later in life for my having to go through those changes. At a child/teen, I wasn’t happy to go through them….and I’m sure accordingly I made their life rather miserable at times. However, as an adult, I see the value of learning to adapt and change. I am certain I would not be the person I am today, had I not learned the value of CHANGE.
Where would I be today if I hadn’t learned to change?
As an adult, we KNOW we don’t really have to change. We can stay put. Stuck. Accept status quo. Bury our heads in the ground. Put up blinders. Keep on truckin.
I wonder, really, if we we ALL looked at life and the opportunities to change as necessary as we did as kids, where would our paths lead us? If we didn’t take the easy road out and ignore problems, or overlook opportunities, would we be better off?
LOVE this.
October. Leaves changing into brilliant, varied colors in the midwest welcoming cooler temps and shorter days. Change. Beautiful change.
Today, I helped my son finish 3 college applications. Change. Scary and EXCITING change.
This week, we are having our 2nd meeting with a builder and an architect to discuss an addition to our family home. Change. Expensive and OVERWHELMING change.
If we don’t meet the change with a childlike sense of opportunity, then we risk accepting our life rather than truly LIVING our life. Directing our life. As much as we can, because let’s be honest, don’t get delusional in thinking we TRULY have control over everything in our life. We put our best out there, and hope/pray for the best outcome….or at the very least….
“Peace in the journey…strength for the reality”….. author “Me”
For all my friends out there with children who are soon to be college-bound, I think we all share a similar fear and great anticipation for our children to leave the nest. There’s a desire for them to venture on with their lives as we know this is a necessary developmental stage and an opposing desire to turn back the hands of time for one more of these moments….
- Trick or Treating in your Harry Potter or Charlie Brown costumes.
- Hours of putting your Christmas gift of Rescue Heroes together with carefully placed necessary stickers on every square inch of the massive plastic “ship.”
- Messy bouts of playing with playdough.
- Packing diaper bags.
- Teaching the ABC’s.
- Reading one more bedtime story.
- Washing one more load of clothes in the DREFT detergent.
- Hearing “I love you mommy” in their childlike voice, for the first time.
Those moments were awesome, weren’t they? But if we look back on yesterday focusing on what we are now missing, might we risk not cherishing/celebrating/enjoying what is yet to come?
Would I change?
ABSOLUTELY! Because it’s the one guarantee we have in life…with every moment we are on Earth, we have the opportunity to change.
Peace…..and here’s to celebrating CHANGE!
peaceinthejourney 