Change

Change is ever-present in our lives, but sometimes we can deceive ourselves that life is stable and secure. We live in the same place, see the same friends, have a regular routine, call it normality and don't notice the changes until something dramatic happens (good or bad). We throw in the occasional curve-ball to keep things from getting stale, like a holiday or party, and we delude ourselves that we have some control.

We tell ourselves that we don't like change, then read advice about how to make changes - so which is it? Well, we probably only want the changes that we want, don't we?

However, life is not like that - life IS change by definition, a cycle, unavoidably moving on and altering.

I see articles about "embracing" change or recognising change as a challenge and I cringe, because that doesn't address the fundamentals. In my view, if we can accept ourselves as in a constant state of change, see everything that happens to us as being "normal", we have a greater chance of being able to cope and get on with it. It's all getting a bit Zen here, but to paraphrase, it's not a gift from the gods or a well-earned reward, it's not a disaster or a challenge, it's part of life. That's not to say we shouldn't feel joy or sadness because of what's happened, but acceptance may prevent us from smugness and superiority or hopelessness and devastation.