Change n. the act, process or result of making different.Change vb. to make different in some wayMerriam Webster 2010
The art of change can be at once daunting and exhilarating. My observation about change is that it is constant…something that is either to be embraced or feared with dread. For me, the word transition is a better descriptor of what change is in our worlds. After all, during the course of any time period in our lives we are transitioning from one day, one year, one decade to another and adapting to hundreds of micro and macro forces that beg to penetrate our world. The question is, how do we cope with changes as they arise?
“Who are you?” said the Caterpillar…“I – I hardly know, Sir, just at present,”Alice replied rather shyly, “at least I know who I was when I got up this morning,but I think I must have changed several times since then.”~ Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Like Alice, change and the rapidity of it, can leave us confused, a little baffled, and gulping for air. In fact, if we assimilate transition into our world on a routine basis, the subtlties and impact of change can be welcomed and embraced. William Bridges describes in his book Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes (2004) that every transition begins with an ending, requires time in a neutral zone and is completed when there is a sense of a new beginning. When viewed through this construct, change can be a refreshing way to move on, start anew and be revitalized.