Peaceful Transitions – Adjusting to Change
Every day of our lives is another beginning-a chance to live and grow in new ways. However, some of those beginnings are so significant that they remain forever at the forefront of our memories.
It was a midnight in December, and the embers in the fireplace cast soft dancing shadows across the wall. Feeling too weary to continue reading and too excited to sleep, I closed my book, put on my coat, and went for a quiet walk in the moonlit snow. My thoughts focused on the day ahead.
It would be a day of anticipated change-a long-awaited beginning in my life. I had wanted this beginning intensely, envisioned it for several years, believed in it, and moved toward it. Now that it had arrived, how would I adjust to it? Would this be a peaceful beginning or a stressful transition?
As each year ends, we often contemplate how we can bring positive changes into our lives. Change itself does not take time. Small incremental changes as well as significant changes occur in an instant. What takes time-when we want to change something purposely-is preparing ourselves for the change.
Sometimes we delay changes by making excuses or getting sidetracked. We might expediate changes by building courage, developing necessary skills, or making necessary physical or mental adjustments. All these things lead to change. Finally, a tipping point occurs, and we make the change.
There are also changes we do not want and cannot always anticipate or prepare for: the loss of loved ones, a decline in health, the end of a career. Again, change occurs in an instant.
After change, we go through transition, the period of time during which we adjust to a change. Depending on the significance of the change, transitions can last from a few minutes to many years. During transitions, we can find ourselves rooted in stress, or we can receive the gifts that transitions can bring: healing, correction, insight, compassion, faith, resilience, and peace.
How can we experience transition as a peaceful time in our lives?
This authentic kind of peace does not originate in the external world. We will not get it by demanding it, trying to figure it out, or negotiating for it. It is already available every moment.
God placed authentic peace within our hearts, and in the deepest part of our hearts, we are one with that peace. It is a peace realized by our sharing of its grace. We find peace in times of turmoil and triumph by giving the same peace we want to receive.
Thus, during difficult transitions and loss, we do not need to deny or suppress our grief. Yet, we can honor the legacy of those we have lost with our loving memories and gratitude. We do not need to fear new responsibilities accompanying positive beginnings. We can move forward knowing that we must always become the exact changes we want to experience.
My midnight walk across a quiet moonlit snowfield reminded me that I must first be peaceful if peace is what I choose to experience.
The year ahead is sure to bring changes into all of our lives. May the changes you experience bring you the awareness of divine love, and the gift of peaceful beginnings.
