The minute you sit down and initiate changing something within you or around you, the world that surrounds you instantaneously will start to react to those changes. Life always involves changes…but the power to change thought and events is one of the gifts that each one of us possess. As we evolve in our lives we develop patterns and habits that over time feel very comfortable…almost like a security blanket. Then lo and behold you wake up one day, you look in your closet, and see a collection of clothes you no longer desire to wear. You look in the mirror and see a hairstyle you want to change. It may seem like mundane things but even these simple adjustments are going to cause a reaction. In our minds we develop mental images of the people that we come in contact with on a regular basis…so too do they of us. They expect us to look a certain way, behave a certain way…to do what’s “expected.” All remains tranquil and calm as long as things go “accordingly.” For many of us the minute we make changes all hell breaks loose. Mental images have to be adjusted, perceptions have to be rearranged, the expected becomes the unexpected. We look around and we wonder, “What the heck is going on?” I recently saw the movie “The Truman Show”….Truman woke up each morning at the same time and went to work the same way to the same job. All looked fine and rosy and perfect until one day Truman decided to go to work a different way. He started to become aware that life and the people around him were not always what they seemed. To him, he was the same person….little did he know his life was really a world-wide T.V. show with everybody watching his everyday movements. His town was a T.V. set. I know our lives may not be like Truman’s, but there is a similarity to the expectations that we allencounter each day.

Once you sit down and say to yourself, “This is going to change”, forces will come to bear upon you to either quit or change your mind. Sometimes the force can come with good intentions, but from fear of you becoming someone else. Other times, the force can come from someone not wanting you to move forward in life. You may have set-backs, but if you continue to press forward the changes that you’ve implemented will begin to take hold. I’m talking about good changes…ways to improve life. Isn’t it interesting….that many good thoughts and ideas have been met with tremendous resistance. Take the Internet and computers for instance. How many people do we know are absolutely terrified by them? Yes there are some people using this technology to do bad things, but look at how many of us talk to each other every day a half a world away. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. Embrace change…..it can be your friend.

Take the time to love,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1998 Jennifer Avalon