People often wait day after day, year after year, to make the decisions that need immediate attention. They get trapped in time and don’t ever make the necessary changes to improve their own life. What often stops us is the unknown, not knowing whether we are making the right decision or not, and not willing to take the risk or sacrifice to take that next step. Sometimes it’s pain that stops us, the pain of dealing with the end of a relationship, a business, life as we once knew it.

Change is not easy to deal with, it requires that we become flexible and adapt to a new environment, new life, a new state of being. Many just want to be comfortable and don’t ever change; they do the same thing year after year and hang out with the same people, eat the same food, listen to the same music and then wonder why things don’t change. Sometimes change comes to us from external uncontrollable sources such as mother-nature (earthquakes, fires, floods, etc), a drop in the stock market, getting laid off, sudden death, etc.

The challenges that come with change are not always easy to overcome; it is definitely not for the weak. Dealing with heart-break, for example, challenges us to break free from something that no longer serves us. Breaking emotional ties and everything that was built with another person can be very devastating to deal with, tearing an individual apart emotionally as well as physically. Then there are the challenges of letting go of a job, or a home, these in themselves offer a different set of challenges. A new job requires one to reestablish one’s skills and get acquainted with a new set of rules or atmosphere. Moving to a new place requires making new friends, creating a new community, finding a job, and dealing with the loneliness that can come with not knowing anyone. It requires a lot of self-reliance yet it allows an individual to get to know themselves at a different level.

As challenging as life can be when change comes in, it allows for the rebirth of something new, a new life, a new perspective, and sometimes even greater appreciation of life. If we take into account that death is just an illusion, that nothing can ever destroy us, then we have the ability to die and be reborn in just one lifetime without having to go through the cycle of birth and death again and again. We can learn our lessons in the present life without having to go through any more suffering in another lifetime.

I’ve often been questioned about the decisions that I make because at times they are life-altering and to some appear extreme. Yet, I know, as well as those who have walked similar paths, that when you have a calling, you do whatever you need to do to get things done. This is not easy, yet staying stuck is not an option, not when you’re someone like me that feels life fully. Not making changes means remaining in a state of pain, slowly dying day after day. I do what I need to do because I need to live, as challenging as much of my life has been I know that I have goals I need to accomplish, a spiritual calling that I am fully responsible for. One, that I’m willing to risk it all for.

Lately, I’ve just been taking things one day at a time, one breath at a time, one decision at a time because these challenges require much of me on so many different levels. And yet I know and I’m fully aware that I’m doing the right thing, even if it hurts at times. The temporary pain will be offset in the long term for my greater good. The challenges that I’ve overcome have made me stronger, wiser, and brighter.

You can engage with change in one of two ways, you can either go after it or welcome it, or it will come after you and you won’t know what hit you. I can almost guarantee you though that change has been knocking on your door far longer than you might think. It’s up to you how you deal with it, that is the nature of life, constant evolution. Are you evolving? Are you living to your fullest potential? If not, what are you waiting for? Time waits for no one, this is your life, give it a shot.