Spare Some Change?

• This morning I received $4.30 change for pastry I purchased at the bakery, with a $20 bill.
• A little while ago, I changed a poopy diaper and left my toddler clean & dry.
• At bedtime, I watched my kids change from their day clothes into pajamas.
• Throughout the day, I observed my mood change several times from exhausted & frustrated to silly & elated, leaving it to settle in contentment.
• Occasionally, I change my mind.

We all know that change is a life constant, yet when it takes on a task more complicated than coins or wardrobe choice, we often meet it with resistance.  Time takes the edge off the initial shock of change, until the next shift occurs.   

Recently, I observed someone I love discover new facets of herself.  Witnessing this vulnerable meeting was a beautiful example of the depth & possibility of this life journey.  I cannot help but wonder how her self image changed as she met this new part of herself.

For every person who meets life’s changes tentatively, there is a change junky, unable to stay in one place for too long (not limited to geography).  Leaping from experience to experience, job to job, thought to thought, as if fast-paced change will somehow keep the inevitable at bay.

Somewhere between fear and recklessness lives reason...and change.  

Yoga is a perfect laboratory for experimenting on how to cope with change.  Every time I meet myself where I am, on or off the mat, I practice easing myself into change & acceptance.  On the Mat, I have a designated time & place to pay attention and notice the changes that have landed in my body & mind.  Off the Mat, I try to remember that as each breath has a distinct quality, I must honor that each day is also unique and will hold possibilities the previous one did not.  

It is my daily challenge to meet those changes with gentle grace and humor.  And when I fail to live up to the challenge, I know there will be change to spare.