By Karen Mehringer
Large snow flakes swirled and danced as they floated softly and gently outside my bedroom window. A few seconds passed and they came down hard and fast like rain pellets. Moments later their descent slowed again as they fell steady and straight. Life is akin to the snow flakes – constantly changing. When we flow with life and embrace change rather than resist it, we open ourselves to all of the possibilities available to us. Change then becomes a means of expansion. But first we need to let go of the old, so we can show up fully present – open, ready and available to embrace the new.
When John and I sold our home in Parker, Colorado, we felt sad saying “goodbye”. With the house completely packed, boxes stored in the garage, and only large furniture items remaining, it felt empty inside. Standing in the family room, waiting for the movers to arrive, I stared out the window and cried. I had loved this house for its comfort and beauty and even though this change was for the better, it was hard to let go.
Settling into our new home was an adjustment. Sleeping in our new bedroom the first night, we heard strange noises that kept us awake. Cooking in our new kitchen, I felt discombobulated trying to remember where I put the pots, pans and dishes. Showering, grocery shopping, working out, walking the dog – the daily routines we had become accustomed to were now different. It took time to feel centered, balanced and settled in our new environment. But, as we adjusted, new possibilities arose and doors opened that we could have never imagined!
Change offers us the opportunity to get out of our old routines and to re-invent ourselves and our lives. Here are some helpful tips for riding the waves of change:
- Maintain healthy habits like working out, to help you feel centered and grounded.
- Journal every day to assist with processing and integrating your feelings and experiences.
- Allow yourself time and space to grieve so you can let go and move forward.
- Ask for support. You don’t have to do it alone!
- Create intentions for your new life. What do you want to experience? How do you want to feel? Write your intentions down and review them periodically.
- Be gentle, compassionate, loving and patient with yourself during the process, as it takes time to adjust to change!
Change, when initiated as a means of improving our lives, can be very gratifying opening new doors and possibilities. The key to allowing change to elevate us is in being totally present and fully engaged during the process, while also relaxing, letting go and going with the flow.
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” – Alan Cohen
“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.” ~Anatole France
“Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” – Henri Bergson