Change is a given

Shifts Happen. So what do you do about it? Well, you can sit around and worry about what might be, losing sleep and getting more and more uptight and fearful, or you can be fully present in the moment, and marvel at life unfolding.

And if you watch very closely, you’ll notice that the times you suffer most are the times when you are not accepting what is. You are wishing it were different than it is, but it is not different, it is what it is. Once you figure that out and really get it, you can deal more efficiently with anything that happens to you. You will not be wasting time and effort grunting over things you can do nothing about. And when you do make a move, it will be more direct, with fewer attachments to outcome. It is freeing.

It’s not what happens to you but what you do with it, what you make it mean that determines your level of happiness. Zen teacher Cherie Huber used to say people are meaning making machines. Ha ha! Isn’t that the truth!?! Watch yourself as you move through your life, interpreting things. What are your patterns? One way to move beyond your own mental patternings is to say to yourself, “that’s one way of looking at this. Are there other ways?”

Byron Katie has a wonderful way with this practice. She has four simple questions and a turn around for you to use anytime you get lost. On her website www.thework.com she asks "Who would you be without your story?" Whenever you are afraid of the impending changes in our world, ask yourself that question. You can ask, “Who would I be without my money?” Or just fill in the blank with whatever fears you hold onto - “Who would I be without ______?”