Dealing With Change
Five Ways to Welcome Change in the
New Year
By Elizabeth Lesser - Cofounder of
the Omega
Institute Raise your hand if you've had a crazy year with lots
of changes--good, bad, or otherwise. Ok! Just as I thought; were all in this
together. The most difficult change I've been dealing with is my sisters cancer
diagnosis and treatment. Sitting by her bed in the oncology unit the other day,
I came across words by the great Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan: "Walking on
the turning wheel of the earth, living under the ever-rotating sun, man expects
a peaceful life."
Reading them, I had an a-ha moment--I let go of
demanding that life be predictable, easy, peaceful. Such a relief! I decided to
make my New Year's resolution be about welcoming change with a willing heart.
If you want to join me in this, here are some helpful ways to
proceed.
Expect Change
Since we live in
a changing universe, expect change - good change, difficult change, destructive
change, transformative change. . .
Make Friends With
Change
Try not to fight change; make unconditional friendship
with it, in whatever form it arrives.
Relax Into the
Mystery
There is so much more to this life than we can ever
understand through our tiny brains and fearful hearts. So in times of big
change, it's good to be gentle and kind and patient with yourself. And to
relax. The best peacemakers are those who are at peace with themselves.
Receive Change's Message
Be still and
listen deeply for the truth that is carried on its winds--information about the
past, wisdom about the present, and direction for the future.
Come
Alive
Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The
African-American theologian Howard Thurman said: "Don't ask what the world
needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world
needs are people who have come alive.” And so, as the old year changes
into the New Year, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it--for your
own sake, and in service of the greater good. |
