I am six years old and shivering as I glare at the freezing water from the edge of a pool. It is 7:30 a.m. and I am supposed to be in the water with the rest of the students… and my mother. Scared and cold, I muster every bit of courage I have, and jump.
A few short minutes later, I am OK. Actually, the water feels good now—not nearly as cold as when I jumped in. Did the water temperature change? Of course not—the water temperature did not change, I did.
“The key to change… is to let go of fear.”
-Rosanne Cash
Just like the fear of jumping into cold water, I sometimes fear uncomfortable situations. Situations, which prior to living a spiritual life, I avoided at all costs. Usually numbed out or tuned out in some way. These situations are usually a change in my normal routine or what feels comfortable.
Today when faced with something uncomfortable—whether rooted in fear, jealousy, anger—I am better aware of it, and know from experience, I’m probably getting ready to grow somehow spiritually and/or emotionally. Armed with this attitude, I am better prepared to face any obstacle or change in my life with minimal fear.
Life has not gotten easier; my perspective is just different.
I was not always this way. It took a lot of pain to make me change. Moreover, I did not want to change, I had to. Thank God. I was unaware there was a better way to live—I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
So the secret is (drum roll), the world and circumstances of our lives do not change, we do. Things happen around me, not to me. It’s how I react to change that either enhances or stunts my spiritual growth.
I am especially excited to hear about how you have accepted changes in your lives! Share in the comments.
I will leave you with another quote that gives a hint into how we can accomplish and view change:
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.” –Unknown
So the next time you’re standing at the edge of change or something uncomfortable, remember to walk through it—jump in! By embracing it, you’re re-channeling the energy towards positive growth. When you emerge on the other side, not matter what the outcome, you’ll feel better about yourself for having went through it.
photo credit: andyrobe
UPDATE: I plan to post (hopefully) one more post sometime next week before I leave for vacation on June 13th. My wife and I are traveling to Curacao for a week for some R&R and diving. It’s going to sort of be our honeymoon (even though we got married on Kauai ;-) and celebration for finishing my Masters degree.
I also wanted to welcome anyone who would like me to cover certain topics, feel free to email me with any suggestions! I’ll write about anything dealing with emotional growth, spirituality, life, etc.. And honestly, no matter what the topic, I can generally relate it to something spiritual or having to do with personal growth. ;-)
Take care and thanks for stopping by!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Amazing post. I was just in the pool the other day and one minute I was complaining about how FREEZING it was and the next I was perfectly fine. This is SUCH a great analogy and I love, love, love this post. If you don’t post again before your vacay, I hope you and your wife have an amazing time. So jealous!!!
@Positively Present,
Thanks for the comment and sharing your experience.
Jared,
I truly enjoyed your post and like the pool and water idea so much – it resonates.
I felt so far behind when I started today because I have surprise quests, my igoogle reader was not loading and I had to do make up jobs from yesterday or lose too many plants in the garden….I just feel behind.
I finished reading this post and thought – it’s all in the attitude girl!
So I thought, I love the energy of these students and I am glad they felt good enough to ask for a meal and a nights lodging before they head out to job interviews, I got the plants watered and cared for, folks fed and on their way, and now have to do some hospital visiting…maybe I can whip out a post after dinner which will draw hords and hords of readers :)
I am so thankful for all this that I can give today…just give into the good of it. The water feels fine now.
Thank you for all your great comments on my blog.
Your trip sounds like a grand adventure and congratulations of finishing your Masters – what an accomplishment
Enjoy and thank you
I really liked the pool and water analogy too Jared. I might even steal it and call it my own!
It’s not easy changing… but this really is very good stuff, especially: “If you want something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.” –Unknown
I’m going to have to print that out somewhere! It’s so easy to want to change and desire change but never make an effort to actually do anything about it. Thanks again Jared.
Patricia,
Thanks for the comments.
Tristan,
Feel free to steal anything you want!