Beautiful Change

Change is good! I know if some of my friends were reading, they would go "whoa whoa whoa who is saying this?!" Yes, I said it. Change is good. But I will also be the first to admit that I didn't always feel this way. Any time there was going to be anything different, I would be the first to scream "Ughhhh I hate change!" Looking back I can now say how silly of me!

The problem is that we get comfortable. We are creatures of habit. We get accustomed to things going a certain way almost all the time. I know this is what was happening to me. Everyday, get up, go to work, come home, exercise, cook, eat, shower, go to bed, do it all over again the next day. Then my world took a sudden turn… Before I knew it, I was engaged, moved across the country, married and had a baby all in less than a year! TALK ABOUT CHANGE! Whew! It all happened so fast (and to the girl who hated change)! I had to learn to be a wife, a mom and find my way around a new place! It was definitely overwhelming at times but the cool thing about it is with change comes growth.

When change happens it, in a way, forces you to grow up, look at things differently, challenge yourself and one another. Change allows you to look back and see where you may have fallen and lost your way, but it can also allow you to see how totally awesome you are and how good you have it. Sometimes change can be painful. Maybe you move away or lose a loved one or worse. Even in that there is good knowing that you have the strength to overcome and make it through.

I use to not like change because I was afraid. Afraid of the 'what ifs.' At least all the wrong what ifs… What if something goes wrong? What if I mess up? What if this messes me up? What if this take longer? What if I can't handle it? Ughhhh! What if?! I don't ever remember thinking what if everything goes right? What if I do great and get promoted? What if I have an opportunity to impact someone else's life? What if this is opening up new doors? Hmmm, what if the possibilities are endless? WHAT IF? 

The way I see it you have two options… Change happens, so you can either allow the world to leave its mark on you OR you can leave your mark on the world. Your choice. I say embrace it. Change is BEAUTIFUL.

JC

Beautiful Confessions

Ever carried something inside for so long that it just became a burden to you? It doesn't even have to be anything bad like a major sin. Maybe you're being mishandled and don't know how to express what you're feeling. Maybe you're keeping a secret from a friend. Or maybe its that you are deeply in love but too chicken to say - even though its killing you on the inside. Its not a good feeling when you think you have to keep things bottled up on the inside. Sometimes we have to just face the music.

Just recently I learned how to communicate by using something called the Awareness Wheel. This technique allowed me to do a few things. It allowed me to address an issue, uncover what I was sensing, say what I thought, tell how it made me feel, reveal what I wanted to happen, and chose a plan of action. Once you get that down, you do a practice run. I had to address an issue that, all before, I had been skirting around and boy did it feel great to get that off my chest! It was heavy and once release, I could cry tears of pain, then joy, and finally tears of release! It was out! Ladies and Gentlemen,  Elvis has left the building! I felt as though a great weight lifted off my shoulders!

Sounds good right? However, giving a confession or telling someone a secret can be scary for a number of reasons. Maybe it could backfire, maybe you'll be betrayed, maybe someone's opinion may change of you, or maybe you don't get the outcome you were hoping for. But for all those reasons confessions are scary, there's an opposite reason for them not to be. Maybe it goes your way, maybe you'll be forgiven,  maybe they love you back, or maybe, just maybe it goes a bajillion times better than you ever imagined it would turn out! 

Confessions are good for the soul, so get that thing off your chest! When your heart and mind are clear, it allows others to see your true inner beauty and your outward glow! That in itself is BEAUTIFUL!

JC