Change

Change… it has many meanings we can all relate to but each meaning means something different to each of us.

Change is simply the amount of coins on a counter. Change to do the laundry, change for the bus, change to pay for parking. Change to put in someone’s cup while they're playing music on the sidewalk. Change for the poor. Change to pay for food or drink. Change to give to your grandchildren.

Then there’s the change that comes from switching clothes or outfits. Changing because of the weather. Changing into something more comfortable. Changing for bedtime. Changing for your day. Changing for gym in school or the gym as an adult. Changing diapers, changing into a bathing suit. Changing for a date. Changing to find the perfect wedding dress. Changing shoes to go for a walk. Changing into heels. Changing into work shoes.

You can also change your home and objects around you. Changing out pictures in frames. Changing the water for flowers. Changing pillowcases. Change your laundry from wash to dry. Change the channel. Change the curtains. Change the sheets. Change the lightbulbs. Change the plant pots. Change the wall color. Change your sheets.

You can change yourself just like the seasons. Sometimes change isn’t on purpose. Sometimes it’s natural and environmental. Intrinsic and mental. Traumatic and incidental. Whatever the reason, we change as humans and as animals. We change when we lose a loved one. We change when we lose a friend. We change when we gain a lover or when we make new friends. We change when we lose negative people in our lives and change when we gain positive support. We change when we lose a job. We change when we gain a new one. We change when we have children. We change when we lose them. We change when we begin school and leave school. We change when we’re alone. We change when we’re forgotten. We change when we don’t know where we’re going or where we’ve been. We change for good and for bad. We change like the weather and the seasons.

Each day brings change, each minute even, sometimes each second. One minute it can be a beautiful day, the next can be a hurricane. We can change like the tide, like the moon in its circled orb. Like the butterfly from the caterpillar and the bud to a flower. All these changes make us who we are. At times I think that change is both good and bad. There is no real way to welcome change. Sometimes it happens when you least expect it.

I’m learning to recognize the good that comes from change, as well as seeing the silver lining when the change is disruptive and sad. Recognizing that all change teaches us something about ourselves, one another and the world. Realizing that change helps us grow, live, love and become who we are at the moment, who we were in the past and who we want to be in the future. There’s one thing for sure about change, it happens because of time. Time will always change and that is a constant we can count on. Time will change even if you don’t want it to. All we can do is reset when change brings us disruption, live in the moment and look forward to the future. With all of the changes in my life recently, I welcome change, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me.

I’m learning to recognize that change is beautiful no matter if it’s my changing environment, my changing belly, my changing lifestyle or my changing work choices. The biggest change that is happening within me is one that you can’t see, both physically and mentally but we sure do change on the outside. I’m getting ready for this change little by little and feel grateful for each passing day. Change is an adjustment made with the mind and the heart. What will you change today?

xoxo- Jacqueline