Back to School: Reflecting on Change

Tomorrow will be the first day of school for many students and teachers.  This is a time of year that comes with mixed feelings for many.  While students, parents, and teachers don’t want to say “good-bye” to the carefree days of summer, the return to a routine schedule feels good in some ways…and then there are the Friday night football games, the fall craft fairs, apple pies, and the comfort of a warm sweatshirt on a cool night.

This will be a change, and ready or not, it’s here.  Change is often resisted, yet we usually know that we need change in order to keep moving and growing.  Change means letting go of one thing and allowing something else to take its place.  The ‘letting go’ is important, because it allows room for something new.  Beginnings can make us nervous;  we get anxious about those unknowns ahead.  Yet, beginnings are also a refreshing opportunity to start fresh.

I am at a period in my life where change seems to be the only constant.  I am learning through the uncertainty that the unknowns can be embraced.  I am learning to surrender, and I am learning that it feels good to surrender.  By nature, I like to feel “in control” of things.  But that “control” is only an illusion.  Any moment, things can change in a split second…or they might stay how they are for longer than we think.  We have no answers, and if we spend all of our time asking questions, we miss the brilliance of the present moment.  So going into this year, I’m not thinking too far ahead.  I’m not worrying if I’ll be able to keep up with the new demands of this year.  I’m also not fretting over the things I didn’t fit into my summer…those projects I said I’d get to that never made it into the hours of June, July, and August.  Instead, I’m embracing the present moment, embracing the change, and staying open to noticing how it is all feeling for me.  And right now…I’m noticing that I don’t feel nervous at all.