Are You Fighting the Seasons of Change?
Life is constantly shifting from one year to the next, with everything in constant flux. I recall reading a book once that likened life to a kaleidoscope; how each small piece changes bit by bit, until finally, the entire view is totally different. Think of where your life was 5 years ago, 10 years ago, or even 15 years ago. How the people and the situations have changed.
When we move toward these changes in an excited way, looking toward the future with hope, we gently fall, much like the leaves during autumn, to our next chapter with ease and grace. However, when we stubbornly grind our heels in, desperately trying to keep things the way they previously were, usually out of fear, we cause ourselves, and often others in our life, much pain and suffering.
One of the most common questions I hear from clients is, “where is MY person?” Yet, what most people never wrap their heads around until it’s too late, is that even IF we find that person, nothing is set in stone for us to keep that person. Accidents happen, people get sick and die or perhaps don’t grow together, or they often decide they want different people. These loved ones in our lives are not “lifetime guaranteed.”
I find the changing of the seasons, especially fall, as a poignant time to reflect on this topic. Watching the leaves gently swirl and fly around us should serve as constant reminder of how beautiful change can be, IF we allow it to happen in a natural way. When we have faith that there is a bigger plan, one we most often won’t see, it allows us to handle this transition with contentment and grace.
Grace…what a beautiful word. This means forgiving, empathizing and loving those around us, even when they may not deserve it, believe what we believe, or even may have done unspeakable things. To live in grace means to live in understanding compassion for the people and the situations in our lives. So change is far easier to handle when we live in grace.
As we move toward this autumnal time of year, we should take time to look around at the beauty of the season. Perhaps this is a good time to ask ourselves what we might be holding on to that needs to be released. We can use this time to take stock of our lives, the people in them, and the daily dramas we find ourselves going through. Are these people and experiences healthy for us? Are we coming from a place of hope and love, or fear and anger? Take it day by day, with our focus on grace, and we too can gently handle the changing of life’s seasons with the same beauty as the autumn leaves.
Another nice post! …never knew the meaning of the word grace. My mom found herself one day single with 2 girls emotionally scarred from an alcoholic father along with me, her youngest. She worked midnight shifts and found a way to love and support her kids at a time when women were usually not found in the work force. Raising her kids was not easy. My eldest sister attempted an early visit to the creator. Mom got help for her and she was able to get through it. My other sister was quiet and shy and had issues from rejection from her dad. She’s strong-willed and has done well to this very day. I was, well, a boy and a continuous source of difficulty, especially for the neighbors. They did not like me or my BB gun. I shot a bird once on their antenna and I guess it died instantly and clamped on to the antenna wire and just hung there, upside down. The final straw, however, was when my friend and I got the bright idea of lighting a baseball on fire. My friend then pitched it to me and I batted it with a broom. Home run!! Over the fence and into the side of the neighbors’ house…hopped the fence.. was trying to put out the fire on the burning ball resting in the planter with my panicky bare hands and dirt..very hot…too damn much gas on the saturated ball!! Out comes the neighbors in their nighties with a garden hose. Not good.
Next day, knock at the door…Mom answers…deep dodo for me. I don’t remember all the details. They gave a brief summary of my dastardly deeds and my Mom listens but when they say I need to be sent away to reform school, she tells them to leave. I will always remember her for that. She always had her kid’s backs and loved us no matter what. Her name was Grace.
I hear ya, I was raised by a working single mom too! (Bless them!) I still have a scar on my back leg from my sister shooting me with a BB gun too! Our poor mothers! An older man I once knew used to say, “1 boy has one brain, 2 boys have a half of a brain, and 3 boys have NO BRAIN, “ but I honestly think that works for tomboy girls too! 👻🦄😇
Lol….nice to know that in some cases, the gentler sex can also be afflicted from a complete absence of common sense 😊