One of the great certainties of life is change.   Just as the tulips and daffodils of spring fade to make way for the  peonies and lilies of summer, each phase of our lives has only a limited season. Some changes are certain and predictable. We know that our bodies will gradually age as time passes.  The season of our youth gives way to adulthood and, before we know it, we are in our middle years.  And, if we are fortunate enough to live long lives, we will eventually experience the wrinkles of old age. Since this type of change is natural and expected, most of us deal with it pretty well.  What causes us the greatest problems are unanticipated changes that can occur at any stage of our lives.  No matter how carefully we plan our lives,  we will all experience surprises and disappointments from time to time.    

Such things as the loss of a job, unexpected illness, broken relationships, and the premature loss of loved ones are very difficult to deal with,  but we must deal with them and get on with our lives.  We must shift our sail with the wind, and we must learn to bend with the winds of change.  If we don’t bend, we will surely break.  Nearly 2,000 years ago, the great Roman emperor and philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, advised us to, "Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones."  Change is inevitable, and we must learn to accept it as a natural part of life.

One of the things we too often forget is that change also brings with it new opportunities.  Motivational speaker, Les Brown, suggests that if we lose our job we should consider the possibility that "We have just been given a new opportunity to find our true life's work."  This is not easy.  The loss of a job can be devastating especially for people who have a lot of financial responsibilities.  But, if it happens, the best thing we can do is to adjust our sail and do everything in our power to find a new career. It is quite possible that we may find a new career that is even more rewarding than the old one. Many people have found this to be true in their lives, and we can't be sure that it won't also happen to us.  We do have the option of fighting change and just sitting around and feeling sorry for ourselves. But does such an attitude really make good sense?  Will it benefit us or anyone else in any way? 

 Copyright 2014 Allen W. Smith

TB-97—Posted 06/27/2014

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