Sometimes it take
heartache, pain, suffering, disappointment, frustration, sickness and a
long list of feelings and emotions for us to admit that change is
necessary. I cannot count how many times I have
held on to the very things that I needed to let go of the most, believing that I could not live without them. Of course, it is not just I. It is a universal truth that starts early in our development as
people.
We have
a nurturing spirit growing inside us. We try to love everything that we
have. We have a tendency to be
materialistic and tend to hang on to whatever we have even they are no
longer much needed. Perhaps that's the reason why some people keep their
nice cars outside and keep their junks in the garage.
Most of us have our favorite outfits, favorite toys,
foods, TV programs, .... even favorite people. However,
some things have to go. It
is part of progress. Although change
is not a guarantee
that things will get better; things
must change if they are to get better.
Here's a narrative inspired by the
writings of
Jermaine
about a mother whose
young daughter struggled to let go of her favorite blanket, a
clear example of how we tend cling to something.
It's a simple
knit pink blanket that was purchased for her before she was born. Out of
the twenty or so blankets she has, this one just seems to be the one she
holds the closest.
It almost feels like she’s the female Lionel from Charlie Brown. I see
her dragging that blanket around from upstairs to downstairs, downstairs
to upstairs. Then I look again and the blanket is being dragged from the
den to the bedroom, from the bedroom to the living-room.
The Blanket has
to GO! Most of the time my issue with the blanket is just the way it
looks. Normally I just shrug my shoulders and laugh at the thing but of
late my daughter has had a cold.
So,
grudgingly, we forced the blanket out of my daughter’s regular rotation.
Of course, she wasn’t pleased. It was change. It was something she
loved, knew was hers, and had established familiarity with. However,
since the blanket is gone she has a better chance of getting over her
cold faster and not getting sick again.
We, as adults,
know a lot of things that are keeping us from our true purpose, true
potential or even, true happiness but we won’t let them go. We resist
change.
We have
family members, friends, habits, and guilty pleasures that keep us trapped in a state of
sickness, resentment, frustration, expectation, disappointment, suffering, and/or pain and we’d
rather keep them close because they are familiar and convenient for the
moment.
People lose people, we lose things in our lives as we are constantly growing and changing. That's what life is, change, and a
lot of that is loss. But it is what we gain from that loss that makes
life
better. 
Releasing our
security blankets is not easy but a necessary step for us to grow
into what we are destined to be.
It is
comforting to know that life never leaves us empty .It replaces
everything that is gone. It gives us the opportunity to mend what has
been tarnished. If we put something down, we have the opportunity to
pick up something better and greater. Change could be rewarding and
beautiful.
It is time for us to take inventory. It
is time for us to analyze the areas of life that need some adjustments: our
destructive habit like smoking and gambling; our relationships with our
parents, children, siblings, other family members and friends; our
temperament,
patience, negativity, etc.... just to mention a few.
Even in the winter of life, change is possible
if
we learn to accept that change is truly the only thing that is going on
always, and we have to learn to ride with it and enjoy it.
By
Tim Pedrosa
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