I recently returned from a retreat in the Bahamas swimming with wild dolphin in open waters. It was truly amazing and an experience I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to shift out of the monotony of everyday routine, to disconnect from the phones and computers that have become such a staple and distraction from the peace and quiet we seek and to reconnect with the wonder of nature all around us. You can check out a photo album here.
During the travel process, I was struck by three simple words on my boarding pass that are used frequently by many corporations to reiterate to us as consumers that some things are just beyond their control. The ticket read: **Subject to Change**
Now what struck me about the term was how profoundly it can be applied to all of life. Often we convince ourselves that what we have today will still be here tomorrow. We tell ourselves that we are the same person before the trip or experience as we are after. Yet subtlety we are changing at a cellular, mental, emotional and spiritual level continually. Being a species who is so locked into needing to see things in the physical before we have an awareness of them, we don’t connect with the level of our evolution that is occurring all the time!
All of life is subject to change.
What is life but a perpetual unfolding of change?
One single phone call can connect us to news that can dramatically shift everything we’ve ever known and completely alter our life forever. It can happen in an instant.
We like to think that something being subject to change is the exception not the rule. The fact that it appears on a ticket to remind us that a change may happen, further illustrates the illusion we have created for ourselves that things are constant unless otherwise indicated. In truth, things are not constant now, have never been constant and will never be.
So why does our altered ego self so desperately need for us to believe that change is the exception not the rule?
Predictability
We love when things are predictable. There is comfort in believing that we can continue to experience things a similar way each time. It may result in a life of boredom and monotony but at least it’s predictable. Surprise situations, positive and negative, remind us that there is a level of chaos to the universe and our seeing everything through the lens of order is more for our minds than how things truly are. To accept the truth of this would put us into fear because our altered ego needs to feel like IT is in…
Control
We really really really need to feel like we are in control. Even with millions of pieces of data to the contrary we convince ourselves that we are responsible for how things unfold. It’s amazing to simply observe yourself. Pay attention to the next time you get triggered by something and see if you experience frustration because it ‘didn’t go the way you wanted or thought it would’. Traffic use to do this to me (I say use to because I don’t have to deal with it at the same level anymore). Getting stuck on an interstate when I had a set time to get somewhere and I had adequately mapped out my trip with time built in was my fastest path to frustration. Of course my logical mind knows that a city with millions of people trying to do the same thing at the same time will probably lead to some issues along the way but it’s still a jolt to my ego whenever it happens. Why do we have such a desperate need to be in control?
Safety and Security
We want to control how things unfold because we feel it may threaten our sense of safety. If things are predictable and under control, we think that we will be safe and secure. Subject to change opens a huge can of worms…life is no longer predictable, we are no longer in control and that jeopardizes everything. This aspect of ourselves may not be rational. It often involves the subconscious and unconscious parts of our mind. Yet it is a very powerful motivator of our behavior.
Embracing What Is
Given our nature, what’s the best way to honor that everything we experience is part of the Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy and will be in a constant state of change? By embracing what is and releasing our resistance to whatever is happening in the present moment. We may label specific occurrences as good or bad but from a higher perspective everything just is. I know it can be challenging to put into practice but it’s doubtful that the laws that govern our Universe are ever going to modify themselves to appease our need for control.
Forward movement is what creates the evolution of life!
How can you begin to harmonize with an area of your life that has been subject to change?
Your Sacred Truth is connecting to the knowing that you are a magnificent being with unlimited potential and unlocking the capacity inherent within you. I invite you to take the journey of exploration and up level your awareness with a commitment to Discovery of Self.
