Live Simply in 2019: October Mantra, Embrace Change

October 1, 2019

I can’t be totally sure, but I’ve heard rumblings that there are people out there who naturally embrace change. The same thing over and over again starts to feel boring, stifling. They take it upon themselves to move to new cities, get new jobs, make drastic decisions at the hair salon.

I envy those folks.

When I was young, change felt like a betrayal, or like the sheepskin throw getting continually pulled out from under me. “But I was just getting comfortable here!” I’d lament. It was cruel, uncanny clockwork: not an instant after I had truly relaxed into my circumstances did change barge in with its graduations, relocations, and shifts in seasons.

It took me years to figure out that change isn’t some form of punishment. Actually, quite the opposite: change is a gift.

Whether sought out or seemingly happening by chance, change is a mechanism for growth.

Sure, having the lay of the land can feel great, and can make us feel more assured. But if we just keep walking the same damn route every day, we’re only making circles.

Change wakes us up. It pushes us to reach out, to learn new skills, to pay attention to our lives again. Change shakes off the yawning fog of familiarity that causes us to take for granted our Simplest and greatest blessings.

The magical aspect of change is that its impact is not determined by its scope. Relocating your silverware is effective, and so is relocating your family. Each intentional shift has transformative powers.

We aren’t meant to stay the same forever. Life intends for us to evolve, and one of the primary ways it ensures this happens is through constant, often unpredictable change. The people who are natural-born change-lovers inherently know this. But even the reluctant ones come around. Change might make us uncomfortable, but it’s constructive–and instructive. Eventually, we learn, change is really good for us. It’s dependable that way.

This month, the warmth and sunshine of summer gives way to the crisp days of autumn, and we will once again be invited to embrace the change. It’s another moment when you have the choice to look back and mourn what was, or open your arms to the beauty of what’s to come. Different might be wonderful.

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