We Need Not Fear Change
Posted on March 19, 2015 by G Christopher Wright, One of Thousands of Spirituality Coaches on Noomii.
Retirement is Your Greatest Opportunity Yet!
We Need Not Fear Change
Retirement can appear to be a flat and lonely desert that is blazing hot by day and freezing cold at night. The thought of the unknown terrain of retirement can cause fear and anxiety. Instead of resting at ease with a well deserved sense of accomplishment we may be so rooted in the behaviors, habits, patterns of thought, and sense of significance that carried us through forty years of work that we have forgotten (or indeed never knew) how to appreciate what we have done, where we are, and who we have become. Retirement can be felt and thought of as the very best years of one’s life because they are full of wisdom, significance, and a profound depth of knowledge. This wisdom and knowledge is of immense value to the younger members of our world and the sharing/living out of this wisdom and knowledge is a profound opportunity for a life of significance.
Transitions are moments of great potential and opportunity. When we have shed our outer structures that order our world and channel our creative energy into specific kinds of work and relationships we encounter the raw power of creative imagination and the energy to realize what we have imagined. For example, imagine the power of fire. When fire is contained and channelled through the piston of an engine it can be controlled and harnessed to turn the wheels of a car. Now imagine the unfettered and uncontrolled power of a forrest fire. Forrest fires can rage forth and destroy entire villages and forests. This is the same “fire” found in a piston, but it is that same fire without boundaries, without structure, and without limit. Transitions present us with the possibility of harnessing this uncontrolled fire of imagination and power into forms and structures that suit our desires. The trick is to embrace the power of transition rather than fear it.
There are various ways to approach the fear of transitions. One of my preferred methods is to address the narrative or story that we tell ourselves about ourselves and our lives. What for one might appear to be a fantastic opportunity to grow and develop inwardly to another might appear to be the end of the road. Where one sees a lush forrest filled with mystery and wisdom another may see darkness, uncertainty, and danger. Why do two people see the same thing differently? Two people see the same thing differently because of the their internal narrative or their story about themselves and their experiences. Our stories are what tell us what something means, and we can change that meaning by changing our story. Life is full of various experiences and people and things, the significance of these experience, people, and things is always determined by the story we tell ourselves about them.
