No matter what age we are, we are always growing, changing, and evolving, alongside a world that is constantly doing the same. Change is universally not an easy process and requires adjustment, which is not always a comfortable experience. We need to learn how to handle these situations, recognize the larger picture, learn to be adaptable, and learn to let go. Change inevitably comes with growing pains, even when we consider the change to be positive. Whether the change be good or bad, it always includes the process of letting go of something that once was and no longer is. It is okay to recognize that a change is good for you, such as leaving any sort of work or personal situation that may have been weighing negatively upon you, while also missing certain aspects about the past. It is also okay to recognize a change as negative, such as the experience of losing a loved one. However, in both cases, we must learn to not let the past weigh too heavily on our present.
These are situations that require us to be brave and to honor everything we might be feeling in the process. Life cannot all be positive, and we cannot always feel upbeat in the midst of hardship or change. These are moments that require us to honor our humanness and respect and value the messy feelings as much as the ones we usually associate with positive values such as bravery and optimism. We need to recognize and honor our mistakes and realize that they are part of our process. This process is not one that has any specific end-goal, but rather it is one that requires honor and respect towards oneself at every step. We are humans who will fall, who will hurt, who will fail, but we will also laugh, smile, celebrate, and succeed, and no matter what we may be feeling or going through we must recognize our worth as independent of our situation.
Sometimes change can cause us to stress and that can cause us to spiral. Sometimes, the experience of stress can intensify when we stress about stressing. If we do not learn to cut off this cycle and continue to let it intensify, things will only get worse. We need to learn to use our stress and view it as something potentially productive. When we overstress, this can lead us to feel stuck. A normal amount of stress works to show us that we care deeply about something and we should focus more on the latter aspect. We should care about what is going on in our lives, but we should care more about taking care of ourselves and of our own hearts and respecting and honoring our own humanity. Just as we show love and care to those around us and encourage those around us not to stress, we should do the same for ourselves and be our own friend and not our own roadblock. In this life, we should never expect stability in our situations but we should work to be our own anchors and find stability in our own self love and our love for others. Welcome change with an open mind and the stability that self-love provides.
