Sometimes change is a good thing, sometimes bad, and often times a mixture of both that somehow seems to just work out. Change happens by way of tragedy, miracles, time, reflections, and sometimes by unknown forces and happenstance.
Many articles and researchers have documented the effect of optimism on change and general living and so I do not feel the need to follow those heavily trod footsteps. However, one aspect of change that seems to be a reoccurring play in our lives at the moment is that direct point in time when you see alteration coming and have a split second to react.
I cannot quite say that your choice is going to make a profound stance in directing what is to come, but that brief moment in time that you can embrace that change seems to make a profound difference in how a person copes with that particular situation.
My personal examples may be isolated and possibly ridiculous, but I have found that the difference was embracing them; whether or not I was optimistic.
First, finding a new way to feed myself was difficult. Rather than embracing the change I knew was already at my doorstep I rejected it, and was very unsuccessful at helping myself to feel better. When my son’s situation reached critical mass the situation was different. One may argue that crisis was the final straw in my acceptance, but I feel that given the circumstances, I felt I had been living my very own personal crisis for months and yet I still failed. Embracing the change as it was coming down the pike game me little time to reflect the crisis until later. Embracing the change lifted my level of determination and I was better prepared to ride out the tide.
Next, I recently found myself in a funk of enormous proportions. Although I have been in weird ruts before, I embraced my funk, and found myself determined to understand why. Up to that time, my ruts where oddities that I chose to weather instead of reflecting and correcting them. Although I would be dishonest to say that the storm has passed and I am cured of my rut like ways, I can confidently say that I better understand myself, the consequences of some of my decisions, and have a game plan for moving forward. Embracing my situation allowed me to see past my current cloudy state and hope for a better future, making a plan to get to those blue skies rather than waiting for the storm to pass by with no effort.
Finally, those small nagging things that come up, although they are not necessarily change from your current situation, prevent you from changing to get to where it is you want to be. An example from my personal life is my weight, although I am within my healthy BMI number, I desire to be better than my current situation. For years now I have chose to ride out the storm thinking it will pass on its very own. I know better! Embracing my current situation and making a small plan with that gained determination has helped me to envision what it is that I truly want for myself. Now I can see that what I want is not that hard to implement, is not difficult, and is really not that far from where I am; it is only a stone throw away.
The factor that I find sways my typically optimistic self when it comes to change is that timely moment I choose to embrace it. Whether or not we can control the outcome of life situations, whether or not we meet change with optimism, embracing that change helps to dictate what you do with it from that point; do you start out and meet it head on, do you prepare to meet it when it comes, is it a time to take shelter, or is it perhaps time to run the opposite direction?
My personal situations and examples may leave no impact on anyone else but myself. However I cannot conclude without drawing the picture that is now quite present in my mind. That moment of embrace can very nearly be equated to a moment of faith. Faith has many different meanings in our culture and I feel many of them apply quite well. If you want to understand better what I mean go back and replace the word embrace with faith, or another one of its synonyms. Faith doesn’t depend on optimism to get through tragedy, miracles, time, reflections, and sometimes unknown forces and happenstance, often times it can do it on its’ very own, it can rise above those challenges.
Thanks for Stopping By
~Shy Willow
~Shy Willow
*originally published on A Mom’s Handbook. com
~Sensually Yours~
Shy Willow