Loving what is
And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin
Change can be hard. Especially if we resist. There’s an author that I love: Byron Katie. She has an amazing book, Loving What Is.
Just the title, loving what is. This really opens the doors to being flexible and free. To take life as it comes and to see the gifts that appear in every moment.
Have you ever been with someone who’s resisting what is happening in their lives? (Or maybe it’s me who’s resisting?!) It can be challenging to witness and to bear. You want to say something, or you do say something, and they don’t want to hear it.
When the great recession of 2008 happened and so many pharma mergers were ongoing, many scientists lost their roles. These chemists and biologists thought they would be with Merck or Pfizer, Schering, or Wyeth forever. And in a short season, their positions vanished. I became an ill-equipped therapist at that time. How were these families going to survive? I know quite a few who left the pharma industry.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen the same thing happen again and again. Whether it’s a spouse losing their job, or the neighbor moving away or a friend dropping off their child at college, it’s all a challenge. We hold tight, we resist change, we want to go back to the old days.
If we breathe and loosen to the present moment, perhaps we can see a new way that might benefit everyone. New companies with new pipelines, new projects, new possibilities. Perhaps our child heading off opens the door to more time with our partner. Or new hobbies, new destinations, new perspectives.
It may not be what we want right now, but it’s happening anyway. If we can breathe into a new perspective, perhaps there’s a gift on the other side.
Open and breathe. Or maybe yoga or a walk or a meditation. Talk to friends, loved ones, strangers.
There’s a whole new world waiting for you, and the best is yet to come.