When Change Comes Your Way

How do you react when the status quo shifts?

One of our stately eucalyptus trees was chopped down last year. The thick ivory limbs festooned with fluttering silvery-grey leaves had been a favorite perch for owls slumbering during the day and hawks scanning for their next meal. It shaded our home magnificently from the unrelenting afternoon sun.

But a two-decade-long drought in the Sonoran desert had taken a toll. The leaves were dropping and the crown was bare. It was time to take action before something worse happened, like a 30-foot tree crashing down on our home during a stormy monsoon season!

Watching the arborist at work, I wondered:

When we know it’s time for a change, how readily do we accept that and move on?

Do we slowly peel off the bandage? Do we rip it off quickly? Or do we procrastinate until amputation is inevitable?

What’s the best move?

It probably depends on what needs to be released, don’t you agree?

Think about a long-term relationship running out of steam, a fast food habit hindering our health, or an overabundance of idle stuff accumulating in the house. None of these are pleasurable situations but they’ve been building for a while. They are not unnoticed yet they are not prioritized for adjustment.

So yes, they’re familiar issues. Sometimes they’re complicated. We fear the anticipated pain with taking action so we delay. That is, until they grab center stage and now they can no longer be ignored. Action on our part becomes mandatory.

“Most suffering comes from the failure to adapt and a resistance to change.” — Debasish Mridha

Change is hard, no doubt about it! It takes time for us to adjust to it. It demands effort and energy that we are not committed to giving. So we may initially close our eyes and look the other way. We choose not to think about it today.

As the favorite fictional character of Liberty Forrest, Author declared:

“After all, tomorrow is another day!” — Scarlett O’Hara

Yet our non-action is essentially an action. It’s a response to change … but is it the right one? Is procrastination serving us well?

Consider that today may deserve to be the day we let go to reach for something better. Even when we’re not fully clear on what “better” will look like, we can certainly imagine how it will feel.

Yes, discomfort is often the companion to change. But the sooner we face our situation squarely, the sooner we can shift into a new chapter that is slowly unfolding anyway and then take control of writing a new narrative.

Fortunately, we were able to salvage part of our massive Eucalyptus. The arborist lopped off only 15 feet. And then we added a dedicated water line because this beauty was the furthest from our existing irrigation system.

So far, it’s responding well, as evidenced by significant new foliage. We’ll see if it continues to thrive when the triple-digit summer temperatures return (it gets a little hot around here). Things can always change again.

In the same way, our response to life changes can be tailored to the situation. Sometimes, a slight shift is all that is needed. Other times, a complete departure from the current status quo may be required.

Either way, when we are aware that change is in the air, ignoring it is rarely the solution. Wishing and wanting things to stay the same will not make it so. And who’s to say what’s around the corner isn’t going to develop into something even better than we imagined?

Sometimes we figure out our next move when we release what it won’t be

When we bravely ignore fear and embrace change, hope can join our journey as we shift into a new direction.

An itty bitty lovely reminder by pockett dessert to always believe in your dreams

And a shortie by yours truly filled with big encouragement: