by Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac.
Peacefulmind.com
Change is inevitable.
Our lives are made up of the building blocks of change. Change creates the person we must grow to be. Change happens for a reason. That reason is to allow us possibilities we may not have seen in the first place. This can be traumatic or it can be less so.
The single most important point you can make about change is that in most cases it’s not what faces you that’s the problem, it’s how you react to it.
How you react is determined by how you perceive a particular change. The Chinese word for crisis is “weiji”. Two characters that separately mean danger and opportunity. Every problem we encounter in life can be viewed that way. It is a chance to show that we can handle it. Changing the way you think, can change a life of stress and discomfort to a life of challenge and excitement.
Change shows itself in many forms. The move to a different career, by choice or not, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, the move to a new home or simply the change in the weather and how we feel.
It is important to embrace the transition!  Struggling, kicking and screaming and dragging your heals will only prolong trying to control the uncontrollable. Learn to recognize strengths you may have overlooked. Embrace optimism and reform your old belief system. Honor the new you, which you are transforming into. Here are some ways to embrace change:
1. Often, in any situation, we must take the quiet time to be with ourselves to observe this change. How is it going to effect me? Better yet, how am I going to let it effect me? What am I going to do to get through this? Allow the answers to come to you in your quiet time.
2. Take Everything one day at a time. Sometimes situations can become overwhelming when looking at the big picture. Again, take your quiet time to observe the moment. Allow yourself to take all the time, take the space that you need to grasp the change.
3. Breath. Deep breathing allows us to open our chest and expand. It clears our minds and bodies of toxins and should be used as a tool for change. Allow the breathe to cleanse you and make room for change. Make room for something different.
4. Support. We are always put at ease when we have support behind us. In these vulnerable moments, we can find strength in others. If you have a good friend, a family member, a loved one or a community group that you can turn to, do so. Be sure that this support comes from a positive, unbiased source. Otherwise, it can be more damaging than good. Rest assure, there have been others who have gone through what you are experiencing right now. See if you can take away with you some of their positive pearls of wisdom.
5. Love Yourself. You are the true source to your own happiness. You have to live within yourself. You have to be at peace within yourself. Only you can do that. Only you can make that happen. We each have our own way of being with ourselves, but there is only one way to be at ease with your soul. That is to love yourself, always.
6. Our Belief System is one of the major factors that can get us through situations or can cause our life to crumble around us! I do believe that there is a lot of innate goodness and balancing our minds do subconsciously to get us through hard times. The other portion of this is how we “program” ourselves to deal with any given situation.
7. Let go of Ego. Embracing peace of mind, optimism, the ability to forgive, and a sense of humor are all good ways to allow the ego to step aside and make room for some humble pie.
8. Allow Emotional Release. Identifying, expressing, experiencing, and accepting all of our feelings is your doorway to accepting all change in your life.
9. Be Flexible. You have a rigid, mind set about work, relationships, kids or lifestyle. Learn a lesson from the willow tree and its ability to bend in the great wind. Where as, when we are rigid like the old oak tree, we can easily break apart under the stress of change. Learn to relax and follow the path unfolding before you.
10. Their Is No Security in something that is irrelevant or no longer has meaning. When we let go of the familiar, we have the power to embrace the new. Embrace it!