Change is good - a column by Beth Ritchie

Link columnist Beth Ritchie explores the positive meaning behind the phrase “everything is temporary”

By Beth Ritchie of https://propergrownup.com/ 

When you think about it, everything is temporary really. Even if it doesn’t feel that way sometimes. And depending on what way you look at it, this can be either a good thing or a bad thing…

By its very nature, life, and everything in it, is transient. We are born as one thing and very quickly, daily even, we change into something completely different. The person we are, both physically and emotionally, changes drastically as we age.

Our situation, our hopes, our dreams, our beliefs, who we are at our very core, can shift as new situations provide us with new opportunities and new perspectives, or makes us rethink what we previously held dear.

And our relationships change too, even those we are closest with. As we change as people, the way we interact with each other also alters. A parent’s relationship with their child is different when they are tiny to when they are teenagers, and yet again adults. Our romantic relationships often change from the early exciting stage, through the honeymoon period, and out the other side into comforting companionship. Our friendships shift as our situations and schedules become ever more different, or sometimes more similar.

Who was it that said that people come into our lives for a season, a reason, or a lifetime? But can’t this just as easily be applied to situations and events as well as people?

We’ve all experienced massive amounts of change in the last year. It has been difficult and hard, but there have been moments where we’ve seen the benefits of that change.

Lockdown providing maybe a period of relaxation or reflection for many, an opportunity to reset, the true heroism of keyworkers finally unveiled, and a much-needed reminder of what is profoundly important amid the precious frailty of life…

So, while that sentence, “everything is temporary”, can sometimes strike fear into those of us who depend on routine and certainty for comfort, we should remember that change also provides us with the opportunity to grow, or expand our experiences or perspectives. To create a better, or maybe simply more fulfilled, version of ourselves.

So, we must try not to fear change, and instead see it as progress on our journey which is taking us to exactly where we need to be.