The Clash once sang, “Should I stay or should I go?”
Should I change, or should I not?
This question has occupied my mind lately and for some time already. The tune plays in my head whenever I feel like making big or small changes in my life. I like asking questions.
Yet the answers never come easily. Change never comes about so easily. This is my process, though, and I’m learning about it and feeling my way around it.
The following thoughts go through my mind as I delve into the deep waters:
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What happens if you sit somewhere in the same position for a long time?
Your legs go numb, your arms begin to ache, and your neck goes stiff.
You may not even realize that your body is so stiff until you try to stand up and move around. The minute you do this, you feel all the numbness, the stabbing sensations, and the stiffness. Every part of your body aches.
Yet once you stand up and move around a little, it all goes away after a while. You get used to moving again, and your muscles relax.
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What happens when water accumulates in a large puddle.
Stagnant water gets murky and turbid, because there’s no movement or flow.
The more it stays still, the muddier it gets.
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In life, moving from one point to another can seem rather difficult. Sometimes, if you’ve been standing where you are for a long time, moving to a new house, changing jobs, having children, taking on a new hobby, or perhaps moving to another city or country can seem difficult.
You’ve lost your familiarity with the new, whether it be a new life, new place, new activity, or anything that is different.
The new can be scary.
Change can be scary.
From where you stand, you may fear moving forward.
You therefore prefer not to move or take action, because it’s better to stay safe and secure where you are. It’s what you know, and you believe it to be under your control.
You may even use excuses like “I need to stay here to support my family and friends” or “It could be a disaster if I change this or that in my life?” The list can go on and on…
To appreciate having new experiences, learning something new, and adapting to change, it is necessary for you to open your eyes and look around. This makes you look at yourself through different eyes. You just need to look and see.
It’s like the first breath of a newborn infant. It’s like opening your eyes for the first time after being trapped in the dark for so long.
It’s looking at yourself with fresh eyes and new understandings.
Once you stand up and take your first step, you’ve already started. You may move very slowly, at least at the beginning, but you just need to keep moving. You can rest a little sometimes, before moving on again…
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It’s not just a fear of change, perhaps, but also a fear of not succeeding, of abandoning it midway.
But what really matters is the experience itself, right, to experience the journey?
You never know what can happen during your journey, and maybe your priorities may change along the way.
Maybe you never get to achieve your goals.
Yet the important thing is to have an adventure, an experience comprised of your own unique events. You will perceive life through an entirely different perspective.
It can be good to shake your world up now and then, whether it involves big or small changes. You can vary where you drink coffee in the morning or have your hair cut. You can change the city you live in…
Just remember to exercise yourself a little every day.
Just remember to keep moving, even if it’s just very slowly.
May we will all have the courage to dream a little dream, walk a little walk, and make a little move…
