On Sunday afternoon, we spent hours simply relaxing and watching the waves crash on the sandy beach from the giant picture windows of our beach house in Virginia. Over and over again, the waves would crest then crash, spilling water onto the sandy beach, and then flow back into the ocean. Seagulls combed the shallow waters looking for meals, and occasionally, in the distance, we’d see porpoises make their loops out of the water and back in again. Never ending, yet always changing. morning, noon and night. Each and every wave is different yet the same. The ocean never sleeps and the waves never cease. The monotony of this cycle comforts me, yet its similarities to life challenge me.
Do we sometimes settle in to monotonous routines, getting comfortable with the cycles of our lives? The comfort routine of breakfast before school or work, the meetings, the extra curricular activities that fill our time, the friends we’ve had for years, etc. etc. Until one day, when the world changes around us, like a hurricane disrupting the routine of the sea, and we are forced out of our comfort zone, into new challenges and routines.
The death of a spouse or friend, a health issue, the loss of a job, a new relationship, a promotion, changes, both good and bad ones, can really shake us up. Perhaps we had settled too long, and forgotten how to adapt to our ever changing world. Perhaps we’re afraid of failing in our new uncertain roles.
In a recent conversation with a friend experiencing some significant changes i their lives, they said, “I just want my life back”. While I sympathize, I also realize that, for that person, their life may not every be back to what they once knew. They will, eventually, settle into a new routine, a new norm, a new rhythm, before their world is eventually changed again by something else.
Be comforted in knowing change is inevitable, but that you can handle it. Like the storms that pummel the beach, change will come and shape us more and more. Embrace the change, knowing you will emerge with new comforts and new routines, developing you for what you need to be.
Be blessed today, my friends!
Journey-For-Life 