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Change
To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die:
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, And a time to lose:
A time to keep, And a time to throw away:
A time to tear, And a time to sew:
A time to silence, And a time to speak;
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, New King James Version
I am in the middle of a lot of change, and it's exciting and scary. I start a new job on Wednesday, my first time as a full fledged employee rather than my own boss after years of going it on my own. I'm going to be working in a local office of a large corporation with very clearly delineated policies and procedures, and after years of developing my own work methods, this will be an adaptation, though an easy one. When it comes to work, coloring within the lines has always been easy for me. It's a new field in which I'll have a lot to learn. I'm ready for a new challenge.
My work has been divided into two distinct and unrelated areas. While this has involved keeping a nimble mind and switching gears sometimes rapidly between the two, both have grown stale. No matter how much new stuff I've had to learn, so much has seemed to be modifications of the same old stuff, changing jargon to keep up with the times and trends, rather than deepening my understanding or forging onto the next level. This is a definite down side of self-employment. When you guide yourself, you can often go to the same familiar territory. What's worked before can work again. That happens on any job, but when you're solo, the spark you get from seeing how other people do things just doesn't happen as frequently.
I've also been looking for a new church. This has been something I've needed to do for awhile but have been very hesitant to undertake. There are questions of loyalty, motivation and need, and I've finally accepted that my family's and my needs are not being met, and it's time to move on. This isn't a criticism of my current church. It works beautifully for other people, but there's been something deep within me that's calling for something the rest of the congregation doesn't seem to need. All of our needs are different, and I respect that. That mine are not meshing with others doesn't mean that mine or theirs is greater, truer or more compelling than the other. I just know that I think I've found something closer to what I'm looking for. I've been surprised at the form it's taken, and that surprise is part of the pleasure.
These are good changes, and I'm excited about them. It's pleasant to be forming some of the changes in my life. The last round of big changes were thrust upon me, and I felt I had no choice but to adapt and go along. I feel like I'm somewhat in control of my own life again, shaping it to what I want it to be, rather than making the best of the hand I was dealt. The challenge with this is knowing my purpose. If I feel like I'm shaping my life, I'd better be darn sure what I want. I know the choices I'm making are to provide greater security for myself and my family, to find more opportunities to grow as a person and use some of this potential I've felt was wasting. I'm sure I'll find more purposes as I go.
Ironically, my mind just jumped to Michaelangelo carving a block of marble and telling someone he was letting the angel in the marble emerge. That's a bit like what I'm feeling. I don't really know what will emerge, but I have a firmer grip on what my tools are to let that happen. I know the angel is there even if I don't see her face yet. I know that with my writing I can find some aspect of it. I know that with my business life, the necessary work, diligence and discipline that will require that another aspect will emerge. I know that personal changes for me will cause changes in my family life, and I feel ready to handle those changes as well. Giving myself the freedom to let the future emerge by using the tools I want, rather than determining what the future should hold and then looking for the tools to create that, regardless of if they fit me or not is new for me. Using the right tools in some ways feels purposeful in it own right. It lets a Plan B become acceptable, rather than a sign of Failure.
The scary parts are actually things I know all too well -- my self doubt, the natural fear of the unknown, trusting my family to handle their changes, rather than me handling them for them. This is definitely a time of challenges and growth, and that's the wonderful thing about change. It's how growth happens.
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Dear Cynthia: How wonderful that you have choices with these marvelous changes. I love your enthusiasm about the new job, and the move in church is clearly going to be good for you, since you are selecting a group closer to your needs.
Going strongly with the flow is good. It creates harmony and softens friction. May this powerful combination of excitement, peace, and contentment stay with you for many moons to come,
Vicky
http://www.livejournal.com/users/vxv789/ -
I made the decision last year to find a new church because the one I belonged to wasn't touching me....
I am so glad I did.
I hope you find yours.
Candace
PS - Congrats and good luck with the new job! -
PART II
The tao is thus about going with the flow -- so beautifully illustrated in the hand-written introduction of Richard Bach’s book, Illusions; the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. Similarly, The Fool’s Journey, is often undertaken by a “reluctant” individual, who has the potential for god-hood.
As Wing [1] noted, “Although the tao implies the path of least resistance, it is often a very difficult path to accept and follow. In following the tao, the individual can find his place in the cosmos and harmonize with it. At this point he [or she] can exercise true free will as s/he makes real decisions based upon real possibilities. Here The Book of Changes [the I Ching] can illuminate the individual by revealing immediate tendencies in the cosmos. Confucius wrote in the Ten Wings, ‘Whoever knows the tao of the changes and transformations, knows the actions of the gods.’”
In the process of going with the flow, there is also needed “Virtue” or “heart”. The word, Te, in the Chinese can be written two ways, such that one achieves an “upright heart” (aka virtue), and secondly, virtue in action. “Te is not, as its English-language equivalent suggests, a one-size-fits-all sort of goodness or admired behavior that can be recognized as essentially the same no matter who possesses it. It is instead a quality of special character, spiritual strength, or hidden potential unique to the individual -- some-thing that comes from the Inner Nature of things.” [2] Te is a very important principle of Taoism. -
CYNTHIA AND PAULA...
I CAN'T LOCATE MY COPY OF TAO TE CHING RIGHT NOW, BUT I FOUND THIS ON THE INTERNET AT: http://www.halexandria.org/dward450.htm
I'LL HAVE TO PRESENT IT IN TWO PARTS, SINCE WE'RE LIMITED TO 2000 CHARACTERS. MUCH LOVE TO YOU BOTH, THERESA
The Tao Te Ching and its companion volume, the I Ching, are about change. As Ovid as said in his Metamorphoses, “There is nothing constant in the universe. All ebb and flow, and every shape that’s born, bears in its womb the seeds of change.” The I Ching, literally translated, becomes The Book of Changes.
The path of life through the changing cosmos is the tao. The word literally means “the way” or “gate” through which all things move. “To move with the tao is to be in a state that Christianity refers to as ‘grace’. The Chinese philosophers were fond of comparing taoist behavior with that of water: It flows onward always. It penetrates the crevices, it wears down resistance, it stops to fill deep places and then flows on. Always it holds to its true nature and always it flows with the forces in the cosmos.” [1]
11/15/05 10:00 AM
Bon & Mal