“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” – Benjamin Franklin
On my morning commute to work, I often find myself stuck at the same red light as I exit the highway. On the right-hand corner resides a local Ford dealership, with a digital billboard streaming car specials, and of all things, inspirational messages which seem to change weekly.
During this particular week the message read, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
I appreciated the simplicity of this message, and the profoundness five little words could possess.
The sights and sounds of the season serve as a personal reminder that life is not static.
If nothing changes, then our lives would never change as the years seem to race on by like an out of control locomotive.
Admittedly, some of those changes are beyond our control, and aren’t always met with a welcoming heart.
But others are within our grasp – only restricted by our inability to turn excuses into action. To be more self-aware about the person we put forward in the universe, and to understand that karma comes back on all of us who refuse to embrace positive change.
Now’s the time for a change
The holidays are a time for bringing people together – perhaps with those you only get to see a handful of times during the calendar year.
During this season of giving, of kindness, of renewing our faith in all that is good, maybe surprise those you’ll choose to share the holidays with by implementing a few changes.
Maybe it’s bestowing more patience on those you struggle to get along with.
Maybe it’s opening your heart and your home to people you frequently deem unimportant.
Or maybe it’s telling someone you take for granted far too often how much their presence in your life is appreciated.
These are simple changes with long-lasting impacts on our relationships.
But it does require looking inside ourselves, to stop making excuses for our behaviors, and instead be willing to make a change.
For when karma does finally make its way back to us, it’s important to remember that in choosing to change nothing, you’ve definitely changed something.