Family Focus
EMBRACE CHANGE Dr. Richard Carlson
Embracing change is always important, but never more so than at home. The truth is, everything is in constant state of change–our bodies, the physical structures of our homes, and our children are aging and going through an ongoing state of change.
The way we look at age twenty is quite different from the way we look at age forty, sixty, and eighty. Likewise, as our children grow older they are constantly going through major changes–physically and emotionally. Needless to say, your cuddly four-year-old son is going to be a very different person when he is a young teenager, and different still when he turns eighteen.
We have two choices when dealing with change. We can fight and resist–or we can surrender and embrace. Most people resist change with all their might. They fight against aging, shifts in family tradition, changing attitudes in their children, and virtually all major changes in their lives. The problem with resisting change is that it’s a losing battle–100 percent of the time.
Change is one of the only certainties in life, one of the very few things you can count on. When we resist the inevitable, we cause ourselves a great deal of pain and sorrow and miss out on a great deal of potential joy.
When you embrace change, you open the door to a far more peaceful existence.
Rather than insisting that life be a certain way, and that it stay that way forever, you begin a journey that includes acceptance and appreciation for each phase. Then life becomes more of an adventure and each step seems special and important.