Being comfortable with change

Change is hard. I think for several reasons, many of us avoid it. I do recognize that when things get uncomfortable it’s a sign of a change coming on. I believe that if we never got uncomfortable, we would never strive to be better or reach for more. Some of us need to have different levels of discomfort in order to prompt change. For those of us who are stubborn, sometimes it has to get downright ugly.

I also believe there is a part of us that is afraid of the possibilities, afraid of the uncertainty and work it would require to be our personal best. For me, it was always easier to just do what I had always known rather than be honest about my true capabilities and purpose in this world. And it was incredibly hard for me to leave situations that were no longer encouraging me to be my best. But finally, one day, it got to a point where living in the shadow of disappointment due to mediocrity and complacency was far more painful than the challenges I would face when I decided to live my truth. One day, I got so uncomfortable I took that leap of faith.

Today I have one year of continuous sobriety. I can honestly say as far as personal change, this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s not the abstinence that’s been hard…………It was all the truth that came with it.

But that’s the thing….once you see the truth, you can’t ever get away with anything less again.

The Story of the dragonfly

Once upon a time, in the muddy little pond under some lily pads, lived a community of water beetles. The water beetles lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They figured when this happened their friend must die since they were gone forever.

One day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He promised he would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired. The sun felt so amazingly warm, that he decided he must take a nap. Unbeknownst to him, as he slept, his body changed completely.

When he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying. So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed. Suddenly, he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news.

Then he understood…. their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!