Change: To Become Different

I don't think I can take it anymore. 

I'm slowly, but surely losing my mind. It's official. I've found myself consistently fighting the urge to curl up in a ball and hibernate under my covers until spring. Yes, I'm talking about this seemingly eight-years-long, never-ending winter we're having. 

I need warm temperatures. I need sun. I need to get rid of the chill in my bones. And I definitely need to wear cute summer clothes and show off a tan. 

Mother Nature, you're being a bitch. There. I said it. 

Anyways, enough about that. I don't have an exciting weekend to recap, nor do I have a fun link-up to participate in today. I did, however, just get back from a business trip in Traverse City, but there's nothing blogworthy about that besides the fact that I treated myself to a cherry massage. #treatyoself

Instead, I want to talk about a topic that, A. I've written about before, and B. has recently infiltrated my life in new ways. That would be change. 

The big, bad, scary, wonderful, unknown that is change. 

A lot of people say that they're scared of change and I don't blame them one bit. Actually, I think it's a typical reaction whenever that word is mentioned, like a little jump-start to the heart that makes the pace quicken ever-so-slightly. 

Whether it's a good change, a for-the-best change or a totally unexpected change, the fear of the unknown lingers in our minds and drunkenly infects our every thought. The 'what if's' become a commonly asked question and the future seems a little less certain.

Letting go of what you've known for so long, or the thing you've been holding onto with a desperate grasp, is terrifying. It's flinging yourself off a cliff and anxiously wishing that you land on your feet. 

But sometimes, it's the best thing for us. It can provide us with an opportunity to grow and become the person we strive to be; it can be the push we need to go for our dream; or it can open our eyes, awaken our soul and totally alter our life. 

For example, it can be as simple as cutting your hair. I personally think the change after a haircut is intoxicating. You're lighter, more confident. You feel ready to take on the world. The smallest change can influence your entire being and that's incredibly powerful for a word that often spurs such terror. 

Or maybe you need to change your career path. The job that you used to love just isn't doing it for you anymore. You're scared of leaving the comforts of the office you've gotten to know over the past three years, the people you've met or the work itself. Going in a new direction, tackling a different arrow on the compass of life, could be the best thing for you but it takes change to know that. 

Maybe your relationship is struggling. The person you thought you loved, the relationship you thought you belonged in, isn't breathing life into you anymore. You're confused, you're scared. What if no one loves you like that again? What if you don't find someone else who accepts the worst parts of you? What if you made a mistake? In order to find happiness, a change might have to take place. 

All three examples above show the results, not to mention the internal battles, that stem from change. It truly is an exhilarating, yet scary notion. Releasing yourself from the grip of comfort and accepting the free fall into the unknown is never, ever easy. But sometimes there's no other choice. If we want to be better, or happier, change has take place. 

We can't stay caterpillars forever. At some point, we have to let go and become that damn butterfly. 


- A