Note from Louisa

You may have noticed a current of change at CML with a new website and some new programming being offered this fall. With change always comes the complex dance of joy and fear. I find myself excited about stepping into new spaces where everything isn’t quite so known, not yet fixed. On the other hand, we always step into the unknown with a bit of trepidation and nostalgia for what was more routine or rote. It always takes some time for the dust of renovation to settle.

Perhaps this is why we shy away from change? It takes work and energy that we may not believe we have. We are leaving behind what is known, what feels safe and familiar, even if it no longer meets our needs, in service of a future that is not yet quite formed. Giving up the “sure thing” that no longer serves in the hopes of a future that may better suit our needs is hard.

The adventurous among us may see the opportunity for creativity, curiosity, and discovery. Those of us who feel more beleaguered or depleted may bemoan the fact that yet one more thing is shifting under our feet. Nothing solid to stand on. Again.

This is the definition of growth though, isn’t it? We must shed the old skin when it no longer fits or risk being trapped inside, forever bound in an old form. If the caterpillar does not submit to the utter annihilation of the cocoon, she would not discover the beauty of being a butterfly. If we do not molt, our plumage becomes ragged and we can no longer take flight. Change is necessary. Growth can be scary. But to stay stagnant is to perish.

It takes courage to look beyond the liminal space of change. I always find humor in knowing that the fearsome new step of today will eventually become the archaic thing in need of being discarded tomorrow. That cycle again… Birth. Death. Rebirth.

What is trying to be birthed in you right now? How might you be resisting that change? Who can stand beside you as you take that scary step? 

In the meantime, as we adapt to what is new, we are so grateful for your patience as we work to revamp the remote access to our online meditation programming. It has taken a level of persistence and calm that would be puzzling to a digital native, but for this digital immigrant, let’s just say that I am glad of my self-compassion practice.
 
Blessings on your journey, 
Louisa