When the air seems not to be moving...
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Do you also feel that “being” is that delicate balance between euphoric sprint running and “dead” still, playing a hundred per cent yourself and a battlefield of dramatic evolution (or changing/progressing — whatever is your chosen word for pushing yourself forward)?
We all face the inevitable reality:
“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
And yet, frozen in daily existence, when asked “What’s new in your life?”, you juggle between “nothing”, “the same old, the same old” or a half-hearted mention of something from a week ago. The small day-to-day changes don’t necessarily feel like something important to bring up in conversation, let alone celebrate.
But looking back, you might realise how far you’ve come even in the last six months.
The small things add up.
In retrospect, I realise that we often emphasise ‘massive’ changes too much. There seems to be some innate belief that if one is not the best at something, or if something isn’t a monumental achievement, it’s not worth doing and it’s not worth talking about.
On the other hand, there is acceptance of own capabilities, limitations, flaws and external changes that slip out of own control. Changes in friendships and relationships, the local community, and the world.
“Acceptance doesn't mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there's got to be a way through it.”
— Michael J. Fox
You evolved and will keep learning and changing, but so will the people around you. With empathy and compassion you might celebrate and love every version of them, and to be there with them when they lift trophies and when they are “less cheerful” (precisely: at the foot of the bed) but mostly just in between.
After all, the life and love and everything worthwhile is about a balance between true nature and transformation.
“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.”