Changing Seasons: Wait for the Gratitude to Rise
"To everything - turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. And a time to every purpose under heaven." ("Turn, Turn, Turn" - The Byrds, 1965, Bob Seeger, music & lyrics)
A big challenge with any change is feeling afraid of the unknown. We can become a bit unmoored or disoriented. A health change, financial uncertainty, moving, relationships that go awry or end abruptly can seem like micro-cataclysms in our day-to-day awareness. Moreso are changes that affect our global community, war, terrorism, economic upheaval, environmental collapse, the ascendancy of AI. It can all be psychologically, emotionally, or spiritually unsettling and pull us off-center. It can also motivate us to enact scalable and sustainable change.
Where is the sun's enduring warmth and light now that the planet is swiftly tilting into Autumn? The biosphere has a way of steadily turning, turning, turning throughout the changing seasons. How?
Malleability
Creative adaptation
Interdependence
Communication
Resilience
As members of the wider "We" of Earth's community, we have a similar capacity. For humans-merely-being, our ability to manage change is also helped immensely by Gratitude.
Health crises, displacement, loss, or professional rejections are one thing. No one loves imposed limits, pain and suffering, rejection, diminishment or exclusion to be foist upon them. There are some changes that we choose, like chosen family, job changes, voluntary relocation or renovation, for example. They are still challenging. And there are some changes that are just inevitable. Graying, decaying. Autumn. Winter. Dying. Change is best when marinated, not flash-fried. Give it time.
While I am walking with my friend through a serious health challenge, I am learning to accompany her with openness and a creative learning posture that means I listen first and lean in with compassion and good energy. Allow what is scary and uncertain to surface, and then hold it without judgment, without abdicating a sense of joy and hope. I am remembering what a supportive role is and does, how to be led, how to yield, how to take cues. Pay attention to subtle changes, like the colors, sounds, and fragrances of Autumn.
This Autumn, my sister and I are beginning a kitchen/living area renovation, and the change is already upon us. It's a good one, but not without its challenges.
Our current kitchen and living space is deteriorating rapidly. Another appliance bit the dust this week, and we're not calling a plumber because we know demolition is about a month away. Being in the kitchen every day throughout the day reminds me that I must adapt. Let go of what has been. See the potential for what's coming.
The prep work, contractor visits, and miniature design dramas are beginning to shake the daily routine, as appliances, furniture, colors, textures, light, sound, and material finish decisions are all coming into conversation for consideration. It still sucks a bit, not knowing, waiting, and planning anyway, despite the unknowns.
We have a vision. What actually happens in the midst of change is a Mystery.
Here's the vision:
It feels a bit chaotic, like that lone hackberry emperor butterfly fluttering down like a leaf that detached from the branches due to drought and high temps, only to be deluged in a sudden downpour that caught them unaware yesterday. Yikes.
Fortunately, the key for navigating change lies in awareness. I just wait until Gratitude rises.
The moment the experience of feeling overwhelmed, fear of the unknown, or sudden change throws me off-kilter, I settle into my breath and remember what's central.
Love. Nature's Embrace. Ineffable Beauty. The fragility and inestimable joy of Living. My chosen family, friends, friends, friends. I am immeasurably loved and treasured, almost embarrassingly so. These are what matter, what constitute a rich interior Soulscape.
Happiness does not arise outside myself, and it is not determined by circumstances or others around me. If I am aware, if I pay attention, I am fully present. This is when I feel, not just contemplate or intellectually apprehend, but feel Gratitude. The tears often erupt. When Gratitude rises, I can navigate whatever change is on the horizon because I'm aware of the potent goodness of this moment, this Now-ness that reminds me who I am, and how I'm loved. The experience of Gratitude gives way to joy, and I can yield to what is other. I recognize the unknown as passing, shifting, turning. I can truly listen and communicate my feelings, be open and malleable, creative, adaptive, and resilient. All the things Nature does to navigate change.
Last week's lesson for navigating change: Let Go.
This week's lesson: Wait for Gratitude to Rise.
How do you experience and practice Gratitude to help navigate change?
Turn, turn, turn.
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