Things do not change; we change. ~Henry David Thoreau
What a year this has been with a campaign that spoke of change and an election that signaled not only the readiness for a change but simply caused a change by its very being! The economy is causing change of its own, from the adaptation of frugality by consumers to the way corporations are run. In this season of changing leaves, changing tides, changing habits, worries and anxiety tend to smother the sense of anticipation I love about times of change.
When change happens, we often tend to focus on what we may lose, not what we may gain. That sense of scarcity, that God will not provide or we are not worthy of what we have been given, well, it just creeps into our hearts and souls. With jobs lost, moves made, new family dynamics, different governance, even shifting seasons, we find ourselves struggling rather than seeing the good any given situation. No wonder when the time changes, people are affected emotionally.
As someone who never has done well during the time change, who finds herself affected by SADD, I have decided to adopt a new strategy this year. Instead of struggling with the feeling that I should stay up later and fight the habit of hibernating, I go to bed early and rejoice in getting up early to start my day. Instead of worrying about our office moving, I look to the advantages of the potential space and location. Instead of watching the stock market tank, I think about the fact that struggles often make us sterner stuff, able to handle more than we ever possibly could imagine.
Thoreau was right and to paraphrase Gandhi, we are the change in the world. There is something empowering about that. Bring change on, let us embrace it and the selves we become through it.
Peace, Julie
