Change is Inevitable

I have had both of my Covid-19 vaccinations! That gives me hope that, during this Spring and Summer, will begin to return to a more ‘normal’ life, with in-person gathering and maskless personal connections. I have been meeting new clients and vendors at work for the last year, but they have all been masked, and I am sure I wouldn’t recognize them if I saw them again without a mask. It has been a strange year for all of us, locally and across the world. We have all experienced the isolation, the loneliness, and the frustration of being forced into a situation that seems out of our control.

One of the prisoners I communicate with as a guide, in the Lojong Mind Training program, recently had the experience of being transferred to from his ‘home’ prison to a new facility with little warning and no particular reason. It was very disrupting, fearful, and frustrating for him… and he had no control over what was happening. There was one teaching that we had been discussing that helped him. It is usually used in the context of understanding that our lives are lived in a state of change, but that can be the basis for growth and learning, not just suffering. If we can’t change, we can’t grow.

“Change is not only possible, it is inevitable.”

We can never know what changes are in store for us. We don’t like change. We get frustrated and irritable when we have to change, especially when we have no control over the changes happening to us. In fact, we don’t usually have much control over the changes in our life, despite our best efforts to keep things going on a steady course. We are human beings and we are of the nature to get sick or injured, grow old, and die. All the other changes in our lives are minor compared to these. We get through most of them, for better or for worse. But not growing old. No choice but to accept it and enjoy the gray hair and the aching joints. (this is from my own experience).

What helped this prisoner was to look at his experience of being out of control of the move through the lens of “What can I learn about myself from this situation.” That view, combined with the understanding that “change is inevitable,” helped him deal with the difficulties he encountered during the move. He come up with a new appreciation for his ability to deal with the inevitable changes we face.

So, I am suggesting that you look back on your “Year of Covid” and, while recognizing all the difficulties we faced together-alone, see if you can recall what you enjoyed, what you appreciated, or what you learned from this novel situation.

For me, there were many things I appreciated and enjoyed and will try to carry on with into the future. My wife spent much time going through her large collection of cookbooks, weeding some out, and discovering new recipes to try. We did a lot of cooking together during the last year. I had time to read some books for pleasure, not just for study, which is rare for me. I also enjoyed the quietness of my life. Not having to plan anything, or anticipate the next family event, being okay with things just as they were. I learned that I can be alone, without friends and family (except my wife, of course) and I can survive that experience and find some joyful moments to celebrate within that time. And, I will have stories to tell about how we made it through!

I wonder if you can find such times from your “Year of Covid,” what you appreciated, enjoyed, learned from, or what changed you for the better during that time.

That Covid time is coming to an end. Change is inevitable. A new time is coming.

What will we experience in this new time?