I heard about a Halloween costume someone wore last month; a black suit with nickles, dimes and quarters glued all over it...."Change you can count on!" was what the wearer declared.In my book, For Goodness' Sake: A Daily Book of Cheer for Nurses' Aides and Others Who Care, I wrote this entry about change for February 1:
"A new month. A perfect time for giving yourself and others a fresh start. If you're like most of us, the New Year's resolutions you made just 32 days ago have long been forgotten. It just seemed too hard to make changes, didn't it?
"Quitting smoking, being more patient, losing weight, or wrestling down the addiction alligator are never easy. In fact, when we work to improve ourselves, life can feel tough and hard.
"But like the kid who falls for the hundredth time when she's learning to ice skate, we just need to keep the faith and try again.
"What have you disappointed yourself about? When did you let yourself down? Rather than pouring your energy into guilt or worse yet, self hatred, declare today your 'fresh start day.'
"In most towns, the public library declares that one day a year, people can return library books that are incredibly overdue. Years overdue. And on that day, usually called 'amnesty day', all is forgiven. No fines are levied. The librarian is just happy to have the books back in circulation.
"Put your guilt and disappointment on the shelf and get back into circulation. Today is a grand day to begin again.
"TODAY: Make a fresh start"
"Quitting smoking, being more patient, losing weight, or wrestling down the addiction alligator are never easy. In fact, when we work to improve ourselves, life can feel tough and hard.
"But like the kid who falls for the hundredth time when she's learning to ice skate, we just need to keep the faith and try again.
"What have you disappointed yourself about? When did you let yourself down? Rather than pouring your energy into guilt or worse yet, self hatred, declare today your 'fresh start day.'
"In most towns, the public library declares that one day a year, people can return library books that are incredibly overdue. Years overdue. And on that day, usually called 'amnesty day', all is forgiven. No fines are levied. The librarian is just happy to have the books back in circulation.
"Put your guilt and disappointment on the shelf and get back into circulation. Today is a grand day to begin again.
"TODAY: Make a fresh start"
But sometimes, change is just darn hard, no matter how much we say or think we want it.
I remember playing Monopoly with my brothers, it seemed I could not win. Within a few rounds of the board game, my brother Tim would own tons of property that I was forever landing on. I would end up with Baltic Avenue, or some other low priced real estate. If Tim landed on it, he would hand me a $500 bill to pay his $4 rent and sneer, "Make Change!"
Yes, MAKING CHANGE IS HARD TO DO. Particularly when it isn't your idea, you can't regulate the time or pace, and you fear your importance or involvement may be diminished in the new configuration.
Yes, MAKING CHANGE IS HARD TO DO. Particularly when it isn't your idea, you can't regulate the time or pace, and you fear your importance or involvement may be diminished in the new configuration.
Yet, when we practice the Art of Possibility, and see that nothing is stagnant, that change is constant and inevitably, great moments can occur. I believe the secret is to believe in our own ability to deal with whatever comes up...and just take the plunge. If we can believe in ourselves and confidently face the change, the experience can actually be fun. We must also believe in the very ideas we offer up: let us recognize that we are not the creator of ideas. We are merely the messengers.
Let's take a lesson from nature. Every day, the world is changing, evolving, moving from one season to another. May we move with grace from this known moment to the unknown next. And may we always remember that our views and gifts are needed by the Universe.
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