On Change
Happy new moon beloveds✨
The energy of transition is almost palpable, its evidence printed in the front page of newspapers and visible in the leaves' turning colours.
The waves of change seem to be moving in collective and deeply personal ways.
These moments of transition can bring up a lot, for there's a part of us that deeply yearns for change and there's another that is terrified of change.
It is the latter part of us that, in times like these, attempts to protect us against change by contracting and resisting life. It’s no wonder that when that part is in charge, life can feel hard, difficult, and like a struggle.
Thankfully, there's another option.
We can take on the practice of choosing to be flexible, malleable, and soft in the winds of change.
When I was 10 years old, living in Yucatán, I remember once experiencing an incredibly powerful hurricane that stationed in the peninsula for over 24 hours.
I recall the eery sound of the storm and the crashing sounds of things crumbling and tumbling with the sheer force of the wind.
Once the hurricane left the peninsula, I remember going out into the street and noticing the deep silence that was left behind. No birds singing. No insects chirping. Just the silence of devastation.
Looking around I remember seeing old stiff trees the wind had plucked out from the ground and laid in the pavement with their roots showing. Next to these fallen trees, palm trees (which in their flexible nature, had managed to move with the wind) remained standing with their deep roots still firmly on the ground.
The harder, more tightly contracted we are, the more we will be shaken by change. If we remain adaptable and accepting our leaves will flow in the direction of the wind while we remain grounded in who we are.
This is, of course, easily said that done. And yet I find that is the medicine and invitation of these times.
Life is change. Whether if we like it or not.
How we choose to navigate change, however, is entirely up to us.