Embracing Change
Change is the only constant in life, yet we often resist it with every fiber of our being. I've learned that the most beautiful transformations happen when we stop fighting the current and instead learn to flow with it. This year has been a masterclass in adaptation, teaching me that growth often comes disguised as disruption.
The Nature of Change
Change is inevitable. We know this intellectually, but emotionally, we often resist it. We cling to what's familiar, what's comfortable, what we think we can control. But life doesn't work that way. Change comes whether we're ready for it or not—sometimes gently, like the gradual shift of seasons, and sometimes dramatically, like a sudden storm that reshapes everything.
I used to see change as something that happened to me, something I had to endure or overcome. But I've come to understand that change is not an enemy to be defeated or a problem to be solved. It's simply the nature of existence. Everything is always in flux—our bodies, our relationships, our circumstances, our understanding of ourselves. The question isn't whether change will happen, but how we'll relate to it when it does.
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and dance with it."
Learning to Flow
The metaphor of water has been helpful for me in understanding how to relate to change. Water doesn't resist obstacles—it flows around them. It doesn't fight against the current—it moves with it. And in doing so, it finds its way. I've been learning to be more like water: flexible, adaptable, flowing rather than rigid.
This doesn't mean being passive or giving up agency. It means recognizing what we can control and what we can't, and focusing our energy accordingly. We can't control the fact that change happens, but we can control how we respond to it. We can choose to resist and struggle, or we can choose to adapt and flow.
I've found that when I stop fighting change and instead work with it, I discover resources and possibilities I didn't know I had. What initially looked like a problem often reveals itself as an opportunity. What felt like a loss often opens space for something new. This isn't to minimize the real pain and difficulty that change can bring, but to recognize that even in the midst of difficulty, there's potential for growth.
The Gifts of Disruption
Some of the most significant changes in my life have come disguised as disruptions. A job loss that led me to discover work I'm more passionate about. A relationship ending that taught me about my own needs and boundaries. A move that opened me to new communities and experiences. In each case, what initially felt like a crisis eventually revealed itself as a catalyst for growth.
This isn't to say that all change is good or that we should welcome every disruption with open arms. Some changes are genuinely difficult and painful. But even in those cases, I've found that there's something to be learned, some way in which the experience shapes us and makes us more capable of handling what comes next.
The key, I think, is to stay curious. When change comes, we can ask: What is this teaching me? What possibilities is it opening? What am I being invited to let go of? What am I being invited to embrace? These questions don't eliminate the difficulty, but they help us find meaning and purpose even in challenging transitions.
Change as Transformation
I've come to see change not just as something that happens to us, but as something that transforms us. Every change, whether chosen or unchosen, shapes who we become. We're not the same person after a significant change as we were before it. And that's not a loss—it's an evolution.
This perspective has helped me be more gentle with myself during times of transition. Change is disorienting. It's normal to feel uncertain, to grieve what's being left behind, to be unsure about what's ahead. These feelings aren't signs that we're doing something wrong—they're signs that we're human, that we're in the process of becoming something new.
"Change is not something we do. It's something we allow to happen to us, and in that allowing, we become something new."
Embracing the Unknown
One of the hardest parts of change is the uncertainty it brings. We don't know how things will turn out. We can't see the full picture. We have to step into the unknown with only partial information. This is uncomfortable, and it's natural to want to resist it.
But I've learned that the unknown isn't necessarily something to fear. It's also a space of possibility, of potential, of becoming. When we can't see the full path ahead, we're forced to be present with what is, to take one step at a time, to trust that we'll find our way. And in doing so, we develop capacities we might not have discovered otherwise: resilience, adaptability, trust, presence.
Embracing change means embracing uncertainty. It means being willing to not know, to be in process, to be becoming rather than being. This is vulnerable, but it's also alive. It's in these spaces of uncertainty that we discover who we really are and what we're really capable of.
A Practice of Acceptance
Embracing change is a practice, not a destination. Some days I do it well, and other days I resist with everything I have. But the practice is about returning, again and again, to acceptance. Accepting that change is happening. Accepting that I don't have full control. Accepting that I'm in process, becoming something I can't yet fully see.
This acceptance isn't resignation. It's not giving up or giving in. It's a conscious choice to work with reality rather than against it. And in that choice, I find a kind of freedom—the freedom to respond rather than react, to adapt rather than resist, to grow rather than stagnate.
How do you relate to change in your life? What changes have transformed you? I'd love to hear about your experience with this constant companion on the journey of life.