What's Changing?

 

There are changes that happen that are life shifting. Those events where everything feels different afterward, at least for a while (until that, too, changes). The loss of someone, the birth of someone, a move, a job change, a health scare, a new hip, a new relationship are some of the big ones. But in reality, everyday, in every moment, everything is changing. You might ask, "why does it matter to recognize this?" 

When we see with the eyes of impermanence, we gain a new perspective which I find helps us do two significant things. 1) We become more grateful for what we get to experience and we savor moments because they are fleeting. We savor the small things -- the things that if we were never able to do them again (like go the bathroom on our own, run up a hill, see someone's smile) we would wish we could do it again. 2) We strengthen our ability to let go because we know we are going to have to let go of everything at some point. Rather than live life in fear of that moment, we can look now at how things are always changing in a single day and become more comfortable with change. What this helps us do is to live not so contracted, but free, open, generous, and kind because what better thing is there to be if we don't get to take anything with us? How we act now is what continues on. 

Change and impermanence are the theme of my groups and retreat this fall. My invitation this week is, throughout your day, pause and recognize that whatever is right before you is, in fact, changing. Whether it is a person, an animal, a leaf, your skin, your food. They are all on their way to becoming something else. What is it like to savor these people, objects, animals, moments in these forms, even as they are changing -- to practice not attaching, but being present with their becoming. Change can be full of possibility and wonder, even the hardest changes.

To this end, I recorded a meditation on Allowing Change which you can use whenever you feel something shifting and want to open, rather than tense up to it. You can listen to it on my website, on the Insight Timer app, or on Soundcloud. There is another very similar meditation called Grounded Through Change which I previously recorded and you can also find on the sites above.

Wishing you a beautiful week of welcoming change. Catch it in the leaves as they are visibly in the midst of becoming!

Jean

P.S. Meditation helps us not react to our thoughts, feelings and sensations which are always changing. It takes practice though. Join us every week for drop-in meditations to stick with your intention to practice. And, if these subjects interest you, you might be a good fit for A Mindful Life. Fall segments are underway, but be sure to inquire about the late fall/early winter segments which start after Thanksgiving.