Accepting Change

I used to hate change and at some points in my life, fear it. But I’ve come to understand and accept the fact that changes in life are inevitable and are actually what inspire growth and the possibility of new things.

I think what I have feared the most about change is the chance that I would come away from it a different person, someone who I didn’t recognize or know. What I didn’t realize is that change offers a wonderful opportunity to reinvent yourself, to make aspects of your life different or better than they were before, to evolve and experience life in a new way, and to broaden your horizons.

The changes I have had the most trouble adjusting to typically involve relationships. I have always had the desire to connect very closely and intimately with people. My parents tell me that as a little girl, I loved to wave and say hello to almost everyone we’d pass on the street. I had a heart that was open to the world and wanted to embrace the energy of as many people as I could. To this day, I am still fascinated with people – how they think, feel, interact, and behave. I love to put myself in other people’s shoes and imagine their position in the world, considering life from their perspective. It is a great exercise in compassion, to truly see the world through someone else’s eyes, and it makes me feel connected and alive.

I have been close to many people in my life and to the ones whom I have been closest, I have given myself, 110%. However, I have learned that people move out of our lives as quickly as they move in. That your best friend might move to another school, another state, or another country. That physically, in person, you might not have the same relationship for as long as you both thought. The pain of losing face time with someone who you hold dear is a change that, for me, used to be temporarily devastating until I changed my perception of what was happening.

What I feared about changes in friendships and relationships was the feeling of abandonment – that I had been left for something bigger and better in life. Now, I don’t see it that way. I believe that friends come into our lives at different times for different reasons and that allowing them to come and go is okay. I believe that we all have different gifts and lessons to share with each other and sometimes, the lesson has been learned or the gift has been shared and it is time to move on and let each other grow in that experience. I also believe that old relationships can come back to us later in life or may simply remain a comforting memory in times of need.

All of the relationships I have had with people contribute to who I am as a person. In a way, they walk with me all of the time. Understand that the company you keep affects and influences your foundation, your spirit. Learn from them and all of their triumphs and mistakes. Let yourself grow and evolve in the spirit of those around you, those who have come into your life for a season of time, and let the experience change you. Open yourself up to the possibility of becoming a new person with new thoughts, new dreams, new desires. And rest assured that even as friendships change and life moves on, having invested in those relationships, you will never be alone.