InSpiritry

Let today embrace the past with remembrance

and the future with longings.

Kahlil Gibran 

As the west wind of our first real cold front swept the last bits of summer aside yesterday (and I changed from shorts-and-Tshirt to blue jeans-and-a sweater!), I was reminded of the blessing of the seasons. Each one is a new beginning, and not just for Nature. As the trees throw off their stiffened leaves and settle in for some well-deserved rest, we too can begin a new season. Fall, especially, offers a time of reconsideration–a chance to leave behind old sadnesses, errors, grudges and regrets. We can rethink our priorities and recommit to our best selves. We can rediscover gratitude and optimism. We can change!

That idea is one we can apply to our personal lives, our professional lives and, yes, even our political lives. With the U.S. Presidential Election Campaign (and hundreds of other state and local political campaigns as well) in the final weeks, for both candidates, CHANGE has become their most vocal promise:

• Change of administration
• Change in Washington
• Change in financial policy
• Change We Can Depend On
• Change We Need

This obsession with change is not surprising. America is at a crossroads. We have finally come face-to-face with the consequences of the past two decades: We have enjoyed unmatched extravagance as a nation, and unmatched personnel comfort in comparison to the rest of the world. We have ignored warnings of the impact on the environment of our throw-away lifestyles. We have believed risk only had the upside of profit, and we made those who manipulated the system our heroes. In our public spaces–schools, cities, transportation, oceans, air and parks–we have let our children and grandchildren down in uncountable ways.

Still, our wonderful American politcal system was built for such a time as this. Every four years, we are gifted with the chance to change! That opportunity to start over, to make new, to decide differently underscores the very optimism that marks America. Our elections are our political version of a change of seasons; our votes taken together become a west wind of transformation.

We are not just voters, though. We are individuals who can also embrace this idea of change on a personal level. You might ask yourself:

1. What do you need to leave behind?
2. What new directions do you need to take?
3. What relationships do you need to heal?
4. What dreams have you let die?
5. How can you live out the you inside?

On an even deeper level, spiritually, we are made for change. Whatever faith walk you travel, transformation is a holy tenet. God makes all things new. Buddha lived in a state of mindfulness, breathing in the renewal of each season. Jesus offered the blessing of forgiveness, the hope of things to come. Fall is the time of the Jewish High Holy Days of beginning again. Nature knows what we need.

So, take a few minutes to step outside into the cool air of autumn. Breathe deeply the crisp air. Consider the possibilities inherent in elections, in seasons, in faith, in transformation. Then, in the miracle of the changing colors of fall, see your own life changed, transformed, made new!

When we embrace Change, life can be a blessing!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 am and is filed under Economy, America, U.S., Anne McCrady, InSpiritry, Politics of Possibility, Environment, Greater Good, InSpiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.