Do you ever feel that you’re struggling against change, trying your darnedest to keep things the same? Maybe you want to hold on desperately to your job, or hold onto a great period in your life, or never lose the kind of love you’ve found? What happens when we hold on for too long?
A friend of mine said this to me years ago and I wrote it down in my diary. It meant something to me, hopefully it will mean something special to you, too.
Life is change, a great big river. Sometimes, you stare at a tree or a pretty landscape as you float by and you slowly dip your hand into the water to slow your trip. But sometimes you get so focused on the landscape, that you don’t even know you’re paddling with all your strength just to keep still and you forget that down the river, is another gorgeous view, or a wonderful sight to see. So maybe, you’ve been paddling too hard.
Sometimes, we fight against change because we’re scared. We’re scared of loss, we’re scared of never feeling the same way again, or we’re scared of failing. We get so focused on our fears or fixated on a particular issue in our life that we close down and fail to see the new opportunities and happiness that await us.
With that said, life changes without first asking for our permission. It possesses no common courtesy to ask, “Hey, I’m changing, are you ready for that? If not, I’ll just stand right here until you are.”
If we stand still in one place pouting because we stubbornly don’t want to change with reality, then life and all the good and bad things about it simply pass us by; we’re stuck in an emotional and mental mindset. Rather than flowing with the great and small waves of life, we are a rock, aging in loneliness.
Our pride and principles hold us back from change. I never want to be the fool that tells time, life, and change to stop and stand still because I’m simply not ready. I strive to be ready to change, to improve, to go with the flow – to accept who I am and change what I can.
Do you ever feel that you’re paddling too hard to stay the same? Are you afraid of the future or not ready to change?
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