Embracing Change

This past year has taught us what adaptable creatures we really are.  When our world changed, though it was a tremendous adjustment and struggle, we adapted.  We changed the way we did things, how we worked, studied and lived.

This has, for a number of people, been the biggest change they have had to face.  Many of us had certain habits and practices that allowed us to cope with uncertainty and change in our lives.  Then those options were not available.  In some places, such options  are still not possible.

Change forces us to grow, face our fears, confront those issues we were able to otherwise ignore, and to move into a new version of who we are.  The process to the other side is the challenge. It asks us to upend what we know, adapt to new habits and practices, and to finally face those things we would rather not face.  Once we make it through this process and come out on the other side, we are stronger, better and, if we embrace the change, we step more into who we are.Change

Change can be something small like adjusting your diet to support your health.  Often this change only happens when your body forces you to make it.  Once you have done it, and look back on the change you implemented, you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.  Change can be much bigger and involve others.  It may be a change that you have no control over like employment or a pandemic.

Embracing change starts with accepting what is. 
Here is a journal exercise to guide you on the path of change:

Be in a quiet space where you can connect to self.   Take a few deep breaths. 
At the top of the page, write: I am where I am and that is okay.  I can start where I am and go forward.    

Write down everything that comes to you from the following questions:

  • What am I afraid of with regard to this change?
  • How can this change benefit me?
  • What happens if I do nothing?
  • What can I do right now to make this change a little easier to deal with?

Imagine yourself on the other side of this change.  You survived and thrived through the change, implemented what you needed to, and came out on the other side.  What does that picture look like?  What feelings come to you in that space?  How does your body feel? Do you feel a sense of relief, or perhaps the knowledge that you can do this?

Now go back to the change that is occurring in your life.   Knowing where you can be if you go through the process and what is possible in your future by accepting this change, does it feel a little easier to cope with?

All growth involves some pain since we are stepping out of our comfort zones.  If we can bravely face the change, allow ourselves to walk through the discomfort, and actively find a way to make this change suit us, we can shape our future in a way that serves us.  Move with the change – accept that it is happening.  Know that you can and will get through it.  Finally, know that what awaits you on the other side is a better, bolder and more vibrant future for you.

How can I support you through the change in your life?  Reach out and let me know.

Many Blessings,

Santa

RUNNING THROUGH DARKNESS
MEMOIR OF A SPIRITUAL WARRIOR

BY SANTA MOLINA-MARSHALL ‧ RELEASE DATE: MAY 3, 2022

This debut memoir chronicles a woman’s spiritual exploration and growth as she overcame a disturbing childhood and helped others heal.

Brought to America from the Dominican Republic as a youngster, Molina-Marshall should have led a happy life. Her father was a diligent worker, and his large family wanted for nothing. But the author recounts that her dad had a drinking problem and was a serial philanderer. Molina-Marshall’s long-suffering mother left him for a woman. Then it was all downhill for the bright, 12-year-old girl, who was shuttled between foster care and relatives. According to the author, she was sexually abused by the husband of one of her siblings. This resulted in Molina-Marshall becoming alienated and moody. By 15, she simply tried to survive. In her favor were grit and a restless intelligence. She quit school, rented a room, and found a factory job. Time went by, and for a while she was happily married. Yet when her husband left her, her life truly began. She turned to religion for answers but decided that blaming God for her woes was a cop-out. 

In this absorbing and moving memoir, Molina-Marshall’s vivid storytelling is fearless. She frankly discusses the truths she discovered and the indignities she suffered. These admissions are disclosed with a touch of resignation and plenty of bite. However painful, everything she experienced was a lesson, and she bravely realized that she was part of the problem: “The fear of being hurt, rejected, or abused often led to me feeling lonely and misunderstood. No one knew the agonizing pain I felt being trapped in my thoughts and anger. I was becoming my biggest threat.” 

The author skillfully recounts her intricate spiritual journey. To deal with her psychic wounds, she searched for an inspirational system. Her open-mindedness led her to the interfaith concept—cherry-picking from various religions and spiritual movements, yoga, and Indigenous beliefs as a way of finding peace. Along with her female partner, she built a therapy practice, making use of every spiritual element that aided her and others. The road was bumpy, and she found that women of color in same-sex relationships were not welcomed everywhere. To do good works—and finally live on her own terms—she effectively overcame bigotry.

An engrossing, cathartic account of empathy and success through determination and confidence.

Pub Date: May 3, 2022   |    ISBN: 978-0-578-38315-6  |   Page Count: 264    | Publisher: From Trauma to Triumph  |   Review Posted Online: June 13, 2022