Change
We were sitting at the breakfast table this morning and I looked out to see a white field and a very faint horizon. The clouds are coming in over the mountains and we are preparing for another snow. Unlike snow in October, I’m ready for this one and feel its timeliness produce far less stress. The subtle horizon made me think about change.
Maybe it was the realization that this snow is not going to rock me as much or the landscape of Montana is really taking hold in my psyche, but something about the horizon and its slight difference in color between the land and sky started me pondering change.
So often change in our lives can be subtle, like this mornings’ sky. Small changes over time often go undetected and don’t mess with our sense of balance or routine. Good small changes, like implementing healthy eating one meal at a time or incorporating more gratitude in life one thank you at a time, can grow to improve your life in the long run without too much pain or disturbance.
But in the same way, small negative change can be deceitful and alter your life in severely negative ways. How many times do we think, "just this once" about something that we know isn’t great for us and that decision to do it again and again gets easier. Small choices like lying to a spouse/yourself about money spent or one more beer before you drive, could lead to big credit card debt or a DUI (or worse).
As I write this, I’m reminded that big change never really starts big. Its always a series of small choices that lead to an inevitable point of clarity. Like a clear horizon. The dramatic difference between land and sky is like the clarity you get during big change.
Big change is always a learning opportunity, because the vast contrast of before and after change makes you see things differently. Just like the sky on a clear day.
I may be reaching here. But as the new year approaches and I inevitably begin to look at the future and dream about the year I want to have and the changes I want to make, I find myself wondering, what small choices have I made this year that have been good and bad? What big changes might be about to happen? And what small good changes do I want to start?