The Many Faces Of Change

'Good' is a hard view to see sometimes and that is ok......

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about change.

Some changes arrive gently.

The trees begin to bloom.

The days grow longer.

A vacation ends and routines return.

We notice the shift, but it doesn't shake us.

In fact, some changes are welcomed.

A new opportunity.

A fresh start.

A dream we've been waiting for.

These are the changes we often celebrate.

But then there are the other changes.

The ones we don't choose.

The ones that arrive quietly and alter the landscape of our lives before we're ready.

A phone call.

A diagnosis.

A goodbye.

The loss of someone ~ or something ~ we love deeply.💗🐾

And suddenly, very suddenly sometimes, life looks different than it did yesterday.

Recently, I've found myself sitting with this reality and I know I'm not alone with this.

How quickly life can change.

How easily we move from what is familiar into something unknown.

And how differently change feels depending on whether we chose it or not.

It's easy to say we want change and I hear this quite often.

We want growth.

We want transformation.

We want new beginnings. You know, that "fresh start".

But what we don't always realize is that growth often requires letting go.

And letting go can be painful.

Sometimes change feels exciting.

Sometimes change feels like loss.

And sometimes it feels like both at the same time.

I've learned that not all change feels like progress while we're living it.

Sometimes it simply feels hard.

Sometimes it feels unfair.

Sometimes it feels like standing in a place you never wanted to be and trying to figure out how to move forward.

Yet when I look back on my life, I can see that some of the seasons I resisted most became the seasons that shaped me the most.

Not because I enjoyed them.

Not because I would choose them again.

But because they taught me something I couldn't have learned any other way.

They taught me resilience.

Compassion.

Perspective.

They taught me what truly matters.

And perhaps that's one of the gifts hidden within change.

Not that we immediately understand it.

But that it slowly reveals something important over time.

I've also noticed that during seasons of change, we often discover what anchors us.

The people who show up.

The habits that ground us.

The moments that remind us who we are.

The simple things we may have overlooked when life felt predictable.

A walk outside.

A morning coffee.

A conversation with a friend.

A prayer whispered through tears.

A quiet moment of gratitude in the middle of uncertainty.🙏

These small things don't remove the pain.

But they help us carry it.

And that's why I believe healing habits matter so much.

Not because they prevent change.

Nothing can do that.

But because they help us stay connected to ourselves when everything around us is shifting.

They become anchors during the storm.

I've been reminded that healing isn't about avoiding change.

It's about learning how to move through it with grace.

One breath at a time.

One day at a time.

One season at a time.

Maybe that's what life asks of us.

Not to resist every change that comes our way.

But to trust that even in the difficult seasons, we are capable of finding our footing again.👣

Perhaps the goal isn't to make change easier.

Perhaps it's to meet ourselves with compassion while we walk through it.

And maybe, just maybe, that's enough.💗🥹