15 Oct Change – It is inevitable

Change is the only constant in life, in the life we experience. Why? Because inherently we are energy, we are energetic beings and energy is never still. It is always flowing, moving, dancing, shifting, interacting and much more…but it is never still, never static, never un-moving.

Imagine an astronaut in his spaceship – and without his gravity boots (!) – and what does he do? He floats. And as he floats he does not remain in one position. He swirls, turns, rotates. He moves constantly. As energy does. As our energy does.

We tend to fear change as we see the consistency and the constancy of our life as safe and secure and we see unplanned and uninitiated change as taking that away.

In the bigger picture (within the view of the universe) we might imagine ourselves as a grain of sand – and let us imagine in this case that we are not dissolvable – in the huge ocean, the ‘energy’ of the universe. As the tides ebb and flow we journey from one shore to another, carried effortlessly along by the strength of force and direction of the tides. Every now and then, when we are out in the vastness of the unending water we experience moments of apparent ‘stillness’ when we are perhaps on the wave before it dips; sunlight glistening down upon us, we are feeling its’ warmth and we experience a sense of being happy. And in these moments, we might be experiencing some of the magic of our life, that connection with others that makes everything so special. A picnic on a beautiful summer day, laughing and playing with children. Washing the dog time, when everyone washing the dog gets wetter than the dog itself! Celebrating around the TV as England win the Football World Cup (sigh, well I did say imagine..).

Before we know it we are on the move again; the wave dips as another takes it place and we are submerged into the maelstrom of the ever churning ocean depths, pulled, pushed, twirled by the pulsing tide. Dragged down to the ocean bed, into the subconscious aspects of ourselves, before being hurled up to the surface once again. And this time, it might not be sunshine that dapples down upon us but rain, or thunder. This is a different experience, a different sensation. Rather than basking in our place on the crest of the wave, we are like the surfer having to find balance, poise, tenacity and strength to remain on the crest long enough to draw breath before surging forward as the tide moves us inexorably to the next shore, the next wave, the next adventure.

In these times, we reflect on the wonderful memories of times and events past. We wonder at the changes as we rail ‘why me’? And that is the core of our, for want of a better word, problem.

We take change personally. We attach emotion to it – worry, hurt, grief, fear, anxiety, dread and in doing so, that grain of sand, its’ lightness and movability deadened by the weight of emotion becomes a pebble, a stone, a deadweight and we find ourselves fighting for breath, swimming in an ocean without the lifejacket we need. You may argue that some changes are personal and yes, they are. Just as some changes are personally guided by someone else for them and their benefit, with us as the ricochet. Nevertheless, rather than stepping back and seeing the situation, we SEE the EMOTION. We feel the emotion. We are RULED by the EMOTION.

Of course, we make and implement changes ourselves. Changes that we plan, that we want because we have a goal, an aim, something we want to achieve or because something is not working, or no longer working and it is not possible to stay within that situation any longer.

In a sailboat we decide not to head to our planned destination; instead we instigate a change and whilst there may be trepidation and uncertainty, we experience a certain amount of contentment as we are the instigators, reaching for a better experience. And we CAN go with that change of mind, that change of focus as long as we are in flow with the ‘tide’, with the energy of the universe. If we are not, then perhaps a storm warning will occur. We might find ourselves battling against strong winds and a current that it is difficult, almost impossible, to fight against and so change occurs again but this time not of our conscious choosing.

What if we were to remain dogged and absolutely determined to change that direction? Perhaps we haven’t seen the rugged coastline that we are going to encounter on our current course. We are not aware that we do not yet have the requisite experience to navigate our boat safely through the course we have chosen. The Universe does. And IT therefore creates a change – a storm. Created specifically to warn us of the danger of the direction we have chosen; a strong and possibly challenging or even frightening change.

Yet even in this unplanned and unexpected change, even in this unforeseen event we do have choice.

We can choose to remain battling against the elements and risk danger – the danger of the force of the ocean and the danger of our inexperience. Or we can switch course, move away from the centre of the storm and allow the current to carry us to safety, even if the journey is tumultuous to begin with. When our grain of sand is dragged beneath the ocean’s surface, we can choose to take a deep breath to sustain us until we surface or we can choose to open our mouth and let water flood our being, drowning us, draining our life force from us.

Even in those choices that are outside of our initial control or decision, we can choose to take a deep breath and look that change in the eye. We can choose to know that we are strong enough, talented enough, loved enough to cope with all of the experiences that life brings to us. Because they are ALL simply experiences, albeit some more warm and cuddly than others.

By taking the personal aspect, the emotional aspect, out of the equation we do not negate the change or the summersaults it may create in our life. We do not reverse it. We do not make a fundamental change to its essence. We do make a fundamental change to ours. We enable a different view, uncoloured by the emotional content of fear and its’ counterparts. We allow our rational, knowing, brave self to look at what it really means, what we can practically do, what action we can take in this moment and by recognising that we can do something, even if that something is to wait until we have greater clarity, to not worry when control is not in our hands, we gain back that sense of flowing with rather than flowing against.

Nothing in our life, in ourselves, stays the same. Everything that is energy MOVES. As it moves, it CHANGES and it invites change itself.