Rev Charli Tupper

There is a saying, “The only constant in this life is change.”   We all know this to be true.  Everything is always shifting in energy and form.  Seeds become plants, sunny weather turns to rain, families increase in number and decline in number.  There are ways that we experience change that we celebrate, and ways that we experience change that cause distress and sometimes pain.

Some people say, “I love change; I seek it out.”  Other people will say, “I dislike change, I like things to stay the same so I know what to expect.”  From my perspective neither one is right or wrong.  It is more a matter of personality preference.  Change is inevitable so how do we come to the changes that are active in our life?  The truth that may be more difficult to really take in is, change is always working in our favor… for our good.  

I have experienced both sides of this coin: love change/ do not like change.   I used to say I thrive in change until I went through a very difficult change that affected every aspect of my life…especially my thoughts about who I am.  One of the ways this time in my life changed me was around my thinking that if I am enjoying the change, I must be doing it “right”.  By embracing the belief that I create my experience, I remember there is a higher Truth that is happening that I may not be aware of in the moment. Those moments of pain or discomfort may be times of healing deep-seated beliefs of limitation and separation.   

What shifted and made the difference for me was awakening the spiritual practice of acceptance.  It does not matter if you love change or not, the way to walk through it is the same.   What does life look like when we accept everything exactly as it is and are fully present in the moment?  Acceptance is the first step in awareness.  I accept, not deny, not try to fix it. I accept what is happening is happening.  In the moment, I am fully aware and can sit with the emotions that arise. In this place of acceptance there is no blame of others; thus, I am 100% responsible for what I create. One hundred percent responsible!

The way I understand 100% responsible takes into consideration that I am responsible for the thoughts that I am holding in my mind.  Can I be love in this situation?  Can I fully love myself and who or what I perceive as other?  

Acceptance is accepting all of the experience just as it is.   It is so easy to make up a story around what is happening and how what is happening will affect our life.  Feelings are messengers, and it is my responsibility to listen to the message without getting hooked on a story.  There was an

old detective show when I was growing up called Dragnet.  The detective would say, “Just the facts ma’am.”  Sticking to the facts of a situation without wrapping it in meaning can allow me to see it from a broader perspective.  By being aware of my feelings, I can become aware of the message about my experience that my soul is trying to give me.  These emotions can appear as thoughts, heat, cold, aches and pains, goosebumps, or elation.  When I think of change from a negative standpoint, I may think that walking through the emotions means walking through pain.  This is not necessarily true.  Awakening to Presence through my feelings can be awakening through joy, peace, and a sense of appreciation. 

Acceptance is awakening the wisdom within and the power to take meaningful action.  When the message is from the ego, trying to tell me to beware we are entering unknown territory, I can 

breathe into it and assure myself I am safe. It is only by allowing the feelings to be what they are, can I move through them to understanding and the power that lies within.  When the message is one of joy, I can take measures to share that joy with the world.  

Acceptance is awakening our power to step out and take inspired actions or to sit down and allow it to be what it is.  We live in a world of uncertainty.  God is not a part of that uncertainty. The uncertainty is whatever we are making up in the moment. There is a spiritual process at work within us that is guided and supported on all levels of our being.  By practicing these steps we have the capacity to live life fully no matter what it brings.  

In the gospels, Jesus was actively engaged with this world and centered in knowing the Divine Presence within him.  Was his life uncertain?  I do not believe Jesus knew everything that was going to happen.  What he knew was that no matter what happened, he could choose what to create out of the situation.  We too have this power within us.  No matter what someone else says or does, we have the power within us to choose our thoughts around the situation.  

In a world of uncertainty, I choose love.