When great change comes into our lives, we may feel as though we are in a foreign land. All seems strange and different somehow, and we may feel hesitant or unsure as to how to proceed. To be sure, a door has opened before us, a door that perhaps we may not wish to go through. And yet, we must proceed in one way or another. Life does go on, and so must we.
The question, then, becomes – how do we proceed? Always we have a choice, and much depends on how we exercise that prerogative. Change can be an unwanted guest, and we its reluctant companion.
Of this much we can be certain – it does force our hand. It gets us out of our rut. It causes us to re-think our situation, to look for new ways of doing things. Whether we like it or not, change is a part of life that must be dealt with.
It is hard to say why life’s lessons often come in such an unwelcome form, and yet, speaking for myself, I have to admit that had the struggle not been pressed upon me, I would not have chosen to face the issues and deal with the challenges that have brought me to where I am.
Therein lies the paradox, for unwelcome as change can sometimes be, it can prove to be a friend in disguise, an unexpected ally that, through its very presence, causes us to reach further than we have reached before. It motivates us to strengthen the weak places, to overcome the hard spots, to transcend that which before we felt unable to face.
I have often wondered if change was a form of inner aerobics, for through it we do develop our spiritual sinews as we find a way to go forward. There is no question – change can be daunting. One must be willing to be a spiritual explorer to venture forth into the unknown, and yet – how else are we to get there?
I think of the explorers in the early days of our country, reaching for horizon after horizon as the vast expanse of the plains and mountains, desert and highlands all unfolded before them, one difficult step after another. What courage it must have taken for them to journey forth in such a fashion, and yet, is that so different from what we do every day when we go forth to meet the changes that mold and shape our lives?
Great horizons wait before us, too. Adventures we have not as yet even thought of lie just beyond the bend. Potential beyond our greatest dreams awaits those who are willing to follow their inner leading, who are willing to move into the unknown regions of their soul so they might discover the very secrets of existence within themselves.
It seems to me we all are searching for meaning in our lives. We all hope to find the courage to meet the tests and trials of life, but the qualities that get us through the rough spots can never be developed without the inner exercise it takes to strengthen them.
It is so with any endeavor. Ability only comes with practice, and that’s what we’re doing every day of our lives. We’re practicing our inner skills. We’re trying to clarify our identity. We’re reaching for some illusive, undefined goal that keeps gnawing away inside us, urging us on with no hint of what our destination might be. Perhaps that’s how it’s supposed to be. Perhaps it’s the mystery and intrigue that keeps egging us on, that whets our appetite, that makes us want to keep on keeping on. We can only trust that there is a purpose behind the chaos, a reason behind the struggle.
Perhaps that purpose goes deeper than we think. Perhaps there is Something inside us that is nudging us on, that is planting the desire within us to grow, to expand our boundaries, to become more than we yet are. Certainly the call is there. Its voice can be heard in every challenge that confronts us. How we respond to that voice will be different for each of us, but respond we must, one way or another.
That being so, we would do well to view our challenges much as mountain climbers view the mountain. They climb it because it’s there, and so must we as we work through our difficulties, as we adjust and grow – because it is a necessary part of life.
Life is growth. Life is change, and if we can look at this aspect of our daily existence as new territory to explore, as a new world that is opening to us, perhaps we, too, will end up stronger than we were before, enriched inwardly and outwardly by the very knowledge that the mountain was there, and we climbed it.
