Finding grace in change

Flowers and ice are rarely seen together but it can happen. ~EAB

Change is the only constant.  Most of the time we go about our lives without any recognition of how impermanent everything is.  We remain blissfully unaware until an event so impactful stops us in our tracks and takes our breath away.  It’s in these moments, no matter how, painful, awkward or beautiful that we are reminded how quickly everything can change.  

Moments like this remind us that what we take for granted as constant is often anything but.  They have the power to instill a sense of urgency to live in the present and be thankful for what we know.  At the same time they can also challenge us to not let the fear of what we do not know paralyze us from the present. There is beauty in the contrast of urgency and cautiousness these experiences can leave us with.

Recently my family lost its eldest matriarch a woman who had been the strong foundation to many.  Someone who has had a deeper impact on my life, and others, than I could ever have imagined.  She was alive during the second World War and the great depression.  She saw the civil and women's rights movements come into the mainstream.  What she saw I cannot even begin to fathom.  But what I do understand from both first hand experience and stories that were shared is that she was strong, resilient and kind.  She gave her time, her energy, her faith and most importantly her intellectuality to leave this world a better place.

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Change is a metamorphosis that can catch us off guard but in the end can hold the most beautiful surprise. ~EAB

While the pain of her passing and the fear that I wasn’t present enough is real the fact that she is gone has re-inspired a sense of urgency to live life fully.  To not take for grated what I can not know but most importantly to embrace the qualities I know have had a lasting impact on my life; altruism and empathy.  

These qualities are not simple or easy to embody they take courage to practice and time integrate.  But I know that the more I approach each person and each situation with these qualities I can begin to make the world a more connected and less divided place. Since change is the only constant I can only hope that my approach may influence others to do the same and perhaps one day our collective impact will be great.  All I know is I hope to leave this world a better place and to find grace in the change