I know this may appear contradictory to the title of my blog. But it really isn’t! Think about this for a moment. Everyone seems to believe that changing is really difficult. But is it really? And even though, I have my share of challenges with certain life changes, I can’t help but feel that we shouldn’t have to overcome life changes with inner struggles and fear that cause stress.
By this, I’m implying that when our attitude is based on a constant acceptance of what “is” and not what was or should be, changes can be integrated into our lives as a normal happening, just as eating, sleeping and talking. Because a change can be that simple, if you let it be.
I remember an episode with an older colleague. She enjoyed collecting antique jewelries and precious stones. In her lifetime, she must have collected a whole stuff of antiquities worth over 3 million Dollars. Even though she and her husband lived rather modestly, she was happy holding on to her collections. After her husband died a couple of years ago, she was suddenly faced with making some changes. This included deciding whether or not to move back to her hometown, where her two siblings were still living.
Because she had no children, she felt that there was nothing to hold her back where she had been living. Even though she had lived there for over 40 years. As I listened to her I could sense that there was more than she was saying.
So I asked her directly, whether the thought of moving back to her hometown at her age was daunting to her or was she more concerned about what to do with her antiquities. She had always remarked in the past that she never wanted any of her siblings to know that she had much assets.
She confirmed my sensing and I asked her what she would like to do with the jewelries. Since she didn’t know and wasn’t even sure of wanting to part from them, I encouraged her to speak to a financial planner. She agreed and ended up selling most of the jewellery for a substantial amount of money. She took the money and used part of it to buy herself a very beautiful and comfortable 2 bedroom apartment in the same town as one of her siblings. With the help of her financial planner she invested the rest of the money in the stock market.
She told me after moving back to her hometown, that she had deposited the rest of her antique jewelries in a bank safe, together with her will.
That’s how simple change can be. Know where you are now, and move into creative action by doing the next appropriate thing. Sometimes you may require someone there, to help you out.