Change and Flow.

There is nothing more certain in life then change, other than death and taxes (hehe)! The trick I am finding on dealing with all of the changes in my life is flow.  We can so easily get caught up in the trap of trying to fight change, fearing change, waiting for change or desiring change that we lose sight of the reason for change.  Change is growth; if nothing ever changes it is also never growing.  Just take a look around you, in nature everything is always changing and growing, in the world of science there are always new discoveries, technology is ever changing and growing (like it or not), we as a human species are changing and growing (in some parts of the world more so than others, sadly). So why our love hate relationship with change?  One of the big things is definitely fear, when something changes the outcome is unknown and there is nothing we hate more then uncertainty as it challenges our safety.  This fear manifests itself as control, we try and control the situation, the person, the event, which only causes us a huge amount of suffering and most times does not lead to the outcome we are so attached to anyway. Another thing that holds us back from making changes is courage, the courage to stand up to the unknown and have faith that we will be okay.  The courage to trust our own intuition, to do what is best for ourselves and the greater good, or to step outside the “norms” of society.  Courage can be cultivated one small step at a time, but we often think we need to take a REALLY big step before we are ready and this keeps us paralyzed.  And so the struggle continues . . . . we are either fighting against change or endlessly wishing for it.  I think the answer lies in  “flow”, which I always picture as a creek; the water continues to move along the creek bed, rolling over rocks, around trees, providing nourishment for plants and animals and playing its own song. No matter what challenges are thrown in its path, sometimes it is overflowing, sometimes it is just about dry, sometimes it gets damned up by debris or man, but through it all it continues to flow in its own way on its own path.  There is no fear, no lack of courage, it just is.  So if we take a page from the creeks book, then no matter what changes life gives us or if we chose to make those changes on our own,  life will go on.  It may be rough, it may seem insurmountable at times, it may be blissful and without a doubt there will be someone or something that tries to dam us up, but through it all if we just allow the experience of  change to wash over us, to accept it and flow with it, we will significantly reduce our suffering.  We can provide nourishment to others by saying “we are okay with change because we welcome growth”,  and we can sing a song of hope for the many who remain stuck in their patterns of fear and control.  Together we flow through life like a creek, ever changing, ever growing, enjoying the ride!