Change is a Necessary Part of Life
by Gordon Rosenberg
Change is a necessary part of life. Without change there would be no life at all. Our lives are actually fueled by change, though most of us want a certain amount of stability.
If you can learn to accept change as a helpful friend rather than something to be avoided, you may experience less stress.
We can’t be here without changing. Everything about this world is changing each moment. It may seem as if some things are relatively stable, but the truth is we can’t see much of the change happening in this world. On the microscopic level, everything is changing constantly. We can, of course, see our lives visually, but even there we may not be aware of all the change going on. Our relationships change, if not entirely, the circumstances change, our feelings change, other people’s feelings change, nobody is ever exactly the same each moment.
When we begin to realize that change is not something to be feared and avoided, we can learn to let go of the fear of change. We can let go of the parts of us that have been refusing to change, often causing considerable stress in our system. When we try to avoid change of any kind, we create tension and stress throughout the body. We keep our energy from flowing more freely through places in the body, and this causes more stress. Our bodies are supposed to flow with change and our avoidance of it causes stress.
The only way to accept change is to realize that it is inevitable here, that no matter what we do we can’t keep it from happening. When you do realize this, you will sense the relief inside you. Your body doesn’t like it when you try to hold back change. All the cells of your body are changing every instant. All your body’s processes go on unnoticed bringing change everywhere. When you try to hold back any of the inevitable forms of change in your life, the body gets confused and shuts down in some ways. This causes tension, stress, all kinds of discomfort for you.
The body’s needs will be met as long as you allow it to have the energy it needs, and to know that you are not resisting the changes happening within it. Seeing change as natural and inevitable in your life will bring you considerable stress relief. You will no longer need to resist change as it naturally occurs, and will be able to express yourself more fully as human. In other words, you won’t need to resist the energy of change and will be able to focus on your own “higher” needs.
