Change Is a Sacred Act
“Change is a sacred act.” This phrase hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it a few years ago at a spiritual gathering for my former profession. I had no idea how powerfully and profoundly that message would serve me in the coming years. “Change is a sacred act. Yes!” I thought, “That is what we need to hear, and feel, and accept.” Because largely –most of us would agree that change is actually scary, at least sometimes. Even good change might mean that you have to change, you personally, and that isn’t something we want to have to do. Changing ourselves is something we want to do on our own time, in our own way, when we say we are ready. And when the change is bad, it can be really bad. Sometimes, it’s painful. It can tear you apart….it can leave you empty, and broken, and lost. I bet we’ve all had a battle with this kind of change at one time or another in our lives. But we are still here. We all made it through somehow. And I bet we all learned a thing or two along the way.
It might be nice if things stayed the same, if we could count on A, B, and C always being just so… but they won’t. Children grow up, jobs change, people grow closer or further apart - and these are often the obvious, more gentle changes. But why a sacred act? We could just accept change as inevitable or something we have to deal with… but why should we think of it as a sacred act?
Because change grows us.
It’s part of our journey on this Earth and the lessons we learn as things change give us the opportunity to grow closer to the individuals we came here to be. Thinking of change as sacred allows us to appreciate our lessons, our growth, and the impermanence of this life. As things change, particularly significant change, we learn to appreciate the little things…the quiet moments. We learn to appreciate the peace in a gentle rain, the energy in the air right before a storm, and the wonder in a child’s eyes. Change is a sacred act that can bring you closer to the Divine and who you truly are. Change can also lead us to disconnect and get lost. But even in this there are lessons, which ultimately bring us closer to our Source and ourselves.
I know when I was laid off last year, it was far from gentle and I failed to find the sacred in the moment. I was devastated. I had worked for the last 4 years to finish a credentialing and just 13 days after completing it, I was told I would be laid off. All that work – gone. All my personal time spent studying and wrestling with new requirements, traveling to conferences to attend needed training - gone. All that I had hoped to accomplish and implement – gone. I felt a deep betrayal since my workplace was also my spiritual community. I wallowed in confusion, loss, and despair for a few months. “What am I going to do?” filled my mind and my days. But in hindsight, this was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I eventually released my expectations of how things were “supposed” to be. I became open to receive the lessons I needed to learn and to follow the path of things that lit me up. I had a profound spiritual and personal awakening through this process. All that I had learned and worked for wasn’t lost, just useful to me in different ways than I had thought. I now run my own business, do work that I’m passionate about, and marvel at the opportunities of the future.
Change is coming – it’s the way of the world and it happens to every living thing. So instead of wishing things could stay the same, what if we embraced change? What if we welcomed change as a sacred act? What if we thought of change as the universe whispering to us, “It’s time for you to grow”. Because isn’t that how we grow? New thoughts, new ideas, new feelings, new sensations, new information – isn’t that how we grow our minds? Our beliefs? Our souls? Why not, think of change as a sacred act?
That’s not to say that there won’t be “growing pains”. We will experience loss and grief, confusion and even despair from time to time. But if we can remember that change is a sacred act… accept the change and move forward, knowing we can’t make things go back to the way they were, then perhaps our transition through the change can be a little easier.
I was just told a couple days ago that my friend is in kidney failure. A man of middle years, a little younger than myself. His story is not mine to tell, but I can share how with this news I can still embrace change as a sacred act. This is not a change I want to accept, but it is one I will embrace because I have no power to change it. To deny it would only push off dealing with my own feelings and perhaps delay the lessons too long. There are potentials for treatment, but there is also the possibility that he may die. By accepting this change I have already grieved the possibility of the latter, made plans to see him very soon, will support him through this challenging journey as I’m able, and remember to let him know how much I care every time I speak to him. Our regrets are often found in the lessons we weren’t willing to see… the changes we didn’t want to acknowledge. Yet when we receive change as sacred… messages to our souls… we can adjust quicker and accept what is, moving forward accordingly.
There are changes around us all the time. It’s not sunny every day, but it doesn’t rain every day either. Look for little changes each day – the unexpected rain, the mail that didn’t come. How do you feel about it? Does it really matter if you got a little wet or had to wait another day for the mail? Because see, treating change as a sacred act doesn’t mean you have some grand epiphany every time something changes. It means you accept the little changes - you grow in patience and grace as you acknowledge all the little insignificant changes that happen around you on a daily basis. So when the big changes come, you are open to them – good, bad or neutral - you are ready to embrace them and follow them where ever they lead. They may lead you to research and learn, meditate and reflect, grieve and heal, reach out and connect.
And even now as I re-write this from the begins of a sermon I intended to give in my former profession before the pandemic hit, it offers me the opportunity to serve friends who need this message currently….and to serve you, whenever you may read it. Change is a sacred act….an act of love for yourself and others.
