Choosing Change

Today in "News That's News to Nobody":

I don't like change. I really don't.  I'm afraid of it.  It's uncomfortable.  It's uncertain.  I especially hate change just for the sake of changing, and that so often seems like the only reason people institute it.  

But sometimes, it's important and necessary.  Sometimes it's the opening of a window instead of the closing of a door. Sometimes it leads you to things you didn't even know that you wanted or needed.  And sometimes it's the change that you've been screaming for in a world where no one was listening.

I went to a work meeting yesterday.  I didn't want to go because I'd spent the last two months stewing in fear and anxiety and distrust.  For once, my greatest worry was that nothing would change.  But I'm glad I did because afterward, I felt good, and I saw other people feeling good.  And, this morning, I woke up with a light heart and a smile.  It's been far too long since that happened.

There are big changes happening for so many people I care about.  Some sought out that change and others had it forced upon them.  How that change happened is critical to how they might feel about it.

But here's what I have had to learn:  it happened.

I cannot change its happening, but I can have a vote in what happens next.

I can choose how I accept it.  I can drag my feet, or I can hit the ground running.

I can choose how I attempt it.  The horizon can be the end of the world, or it can be adventure into the undiscovered.

I can choose how I see it.  Do I see the sunset or the sunrise?  The dark or the dawn?

But I can choose.

And that was news to me.  I hope it's not to you.