Carol Gray Kennedy

When your eyes are tired the world is tired also.

When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own.

There you can be sure you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb tonight. The night will give you a horizon further than you can see.

You must learn one thing. You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.

Give up on all other worlds except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.
— David Whyte

Dramatic and necessary changes are preceded by times of great chaos. Inner and outer changes are difficult, and often the only way we will take those challenging times upon ourselves is through a discomfort so great, there is no way out except to go through it.

These are great times to give up old and outdated habits, beliefs, and relationships. Nothing escapes scrutiny in times of great change. All seems novel as it is  sifted through an awakening mind; seen as though for the first time,…because it is a new time. It is a time to redefine and unload what no longer works in order to  take on the new.

Sometimes, we attempt to avoid such radical change, and that is where addiction and defenses step in as we try to blind ourselves from the intense emotions required to face upheaval. This can work for a while, but is not a long term solution. In addition, long term reliance on addiction or defenses can harm us in all areas of our lives, and in some cases kill us. The choice is to drown in this ‘pushing away’ or surface and meet the change and fresh air our spirit requires to thrive.

Not listening to the inner voice of wisdom requires great effort. I would argue it is almost easier to take on dramatic change than to fight months or years of our lives fending off the inevitable. It’s not like your higher, wiser self is going to change its mind. It’s just that we might not be listening through our distractions and defenses. When we wake up, the need is still there. The need is change.

What is required is an honest and courageous inventory of what is working and what is not. Which parts of our lives are no longer serving to help us grow and develop into our optimal selves? No-one else can define that self for any of us, but we often know it before we live it.

After confusion comes clarity and the steps needed to transform will be revealed to us. But first, we have to enter willingly into the unknown and listen to the voice which whispers, “Change“.