Changes in Life

As a child, my mother taught my siblings and me to be aware of life changes. Of course, we had no idea what she was talking about or what we were supposed to do to control the changes that life throws your way. One of my early life wishes was to be older, taller, and stronger than my big brother so I could give him a good punch. Life seemed to move too slowly for my friends and me. We wanted to be teenagers, then adults. I kept asking my parents the same question every week, “Why does life move so slowly? I am ready to be a man, although I was only 7. When I close my eyes, I can still see and hear my mother laughing. Little did I know how fast life could change?

Being young, I looked forward to changes I thought I wanted to see. Thinking back on those times I realise I had no idea of what a life change could be. At that time my life changes were things that I wanted, like getting a bicycle, going to a baseball game, or being able to eat an ice cream cone every day. That was life-changing for me. Do you remember your first change in life?

Rudolf Steiner, the early twentieth-century philosopher, and mystic conceived of a theory of human development based upon seven-year cycles of change, each offering its challenges and rewards. He believed If we confront these lessons with courage, honesty, and sincerity, the lessons will be mastered, and our psychological and spiritual development will bring forth great rewards. In my opinion, easy to say, but not so easy to do.

My entire adult life has taught me many lessons with lots of twists and turns along the way. Often, life has taken something or someone away from me that I loved. After many hours, days, weeks, or months life steps back in to throw another curve that always makes me understand why it was a good change in my life. Initially, when you are in a dark space it’s difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Life also has a sense of humour. It will often surprise you with a lesson you learned before to see how well you received the message. A major lesson for me was to recognise the warning signs of fake people pretending to be a friend. I have always felt very proud of how easily I could detect a backstabber among my friends. Several years ago, life gave me a pop quiz and I allowed a co-worker that appeared needy and friendly to enter my space. I have always been…