Light the World
Autumn is here, and with it the perennial change towards winter. For many (me included), Autumn is a special season, full of memories, respite from summer heat, and full of looking forward to several holidays that evoke family and traditions.
This is also a season (in the Northern Hemisphere) where we most see change that feels forlorn and sad. Trees lose their leaves, grass browns, and daylight disappears quickly. It can readily remind us of change, loss, and the difficulties both can evoke.
Managing Change
Change, transition, disruption… all things we by our nature generally seek to avoid, especially when we aren’t sure where it may lead, or the future we see beyond is gloomy or unhappy compared to the now. But change, as with seasons, is very much part of our experience. Sometimes, that change, unexpected, unknown, is thrust on us. But if we know ourselves, and we recognize all that we have already accomplished – through and by change – we can start to view the coming changes with a different eye, and with more confidence and surety.
Think of all the changes you have gone through in your life – small, large, planned, thrust upon you – yet you have adapted and maintained (we hope) a level of sanity. It isn’t about being stronger, but about recognizing that it is something you can work through and come out the other side, regardless of how it comes.
Growth and Sparks
Why does all this matter? What is wrong with just collapsing, or railing against change and being angry with it? Nothing at all is wrong with that. It’s a choice we can all make. But I see a difference, and if a few of you gentle readers or people I share with chose differently, we can show others it can be done.
If you recall, when the Rubik cube came out it was considered unsolvable. It was months or longer before finally one person solved it. Then, shortly after, we heard of others (not just one, but several) who also solved it, and then rapidly it spread from there. These folks did not teach each other; they were often states or continents apart. And now people can solve the ‘unsolvable’ in seconds, behind their back, with their feet, etc. This is because ONE person showed it could be done, and the energy, the belief of impossibility, shifted to the possible.
When a few of us begin to look at life with love, with hope, and with confidence in the coming future, others will see all is not hopeless. Yes, right now, things around us are grim and difficult, but that does not mean this is unchangeable; that it is impossible to be any different. Show your light. Show others that the outcome can be brighter, that light can shine in this time of difficult change, and your spark can light the World.
