inspiration
5 Ways to Welcome
Change in the New Year
by Elizabeth Lesser
R
aise your hand if you’ve had a crazy year, with lots of
changes—good, bad or otherwise. Just as I thought:
We’re all in this together.
The most difficult change I’ve been dealt in the last
couple of years was my sister’s serious illness. Sitting by her
bed one dark day, I came across words by the great Sufi
master, Hazrat Inayat Khan: “Walking on the turning wheel
of the Earth, living under the ever-rotating Sun, man expects
4
Receive Change’s Message
Be still and listen deeply for the truth that is carried on
a peaceful life.”
its winds—information about the past, wisdom about the
Reading them, I had an “Aha!” moment—I let go of my
present and direction for the future.
demanding that life be predictable, easy or peaceful. It was
such a relief! I decided to make my New Year’s resolution
about welcoming change with a willing heart. If you want to
join me in this, here are some helpful ways to proceed.
5
Come Alive
Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The African-
American theologian Howard Thurman said: “Don’t ask what
1
Expect Change
the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do
it. Because what the world needs are people who have come
Because we live in a changing universe, expect change:
alive.”
good change, difficult change, destructive change and trans-
formative change.
And so, as the old year changes into the new year, ask
what makes you come alive, and then go do it—for your own
2
Make Friends with Change
sake, and in service of the greater good.
Try not to fight change. Make unconditional friendship
with it, in whatever form it arrives. Elizabeth Lesser is the co-founder of Omega Institute and
author of Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us
3
Relax into the Mystery
Grow. See eomega.org and BrokenOpenBook.com.
There is much more to this life than we can ever un-
derstand with our tiny brains and fearful hearts. So, in times
of big change, it’s good to be gentle, kind and patient with
yourself and to relax. The best peacemakers are those who
are at peace with themselves.
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January 2009 
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