“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become”-anonymous

CHANGE. This is one word (or verb) that generates more fear within people than anything else I know. It doesn’t matter what it’s in reference to, change inevitably stirs up fears within us. But, change is part of our evolving lives. Even what we perceive as good change, like say, a promotion, brings about fear..fear to perform to expectation, to meeting goals etc. But no matter what changes in our lives, having a new baby, getting a divorce, losing a job-we are forced to face our fears, big or small.

I welcome general change in life. I always need to be moving forward, experiencing new things and meeting new people. I thrive with change. Or do I? This is why I love my yoga practice. I often realize in meditation that I carry fears about things that I don’t recognize on the surface, but hide somewhere deeper in my psyche. Each of those things I fear…I have begun to realize I have no control over, except my reaction to them. I don’t know if my original statement “I welcome change” is completely honest. Is it true for you?

How do you react to change? For most of us, our “fear” is simply fear of the unknown. But if we let go of that fear what would happen? What if you just let those fears go with the wind…would you die instantly? Would you loose all your money? Would you become homeless or whatever else runs through your mind? We are intelligent people with an innate ability and instinct to take care of ourselves, yet we still scare ourselves with thoughts, thoughts and more thoughts about “change”. It’s only human to feel uneasy as we face change. How nice it would be to live as freely as we were born when we knew no fear. But that is not what life is meant to be. We each live lives of varied experiences, some good and some bad, and fear isn’t always a bad thing, but when it begins to hold you back, it’s time to look at those fears about change more closely. There’s a message there.

What if we took one day in our lives to take the key (that we all possess) and just turn the lock and bust out of our fears? It’s like deciding to dive off the high board into the 12-feet. for the first time. Remember how scared you were? Would you drown? Would you remember how to swim? Remember standing on the tip of the board, starring at the deep unknown as your heart pounded and then you just did it! You jumped…and it was liberating, or maybe you panicked when you hit the water, but what happened? You did it! Maybe you never wanted to do it again and maybe you ran back and jumped in a hundred more times. Now, look at your life. How many times have you voluntarily jumped back in? I know I feel like I’ve been pushed back off that board a few too many times-the Universe throwing me off the edge to sink or swim- rather than taking the plunge myself.

As I reflect on my past year of change on the eve of my birthday, I feel more confident in myself from swimming back up and inhaling that glorious breath into my new life. I’m ready to climb the ladder for a voluntary leap of faith this time! What about you?