Creative Writing: The Intellectual Work Of Change

I hear a lot about self improvement these days, the kind of change that heals emotional wounds or makes one's life a little better, a little more enjoyable or productive. It's easy to talk about these things, much harder to do them. I think the only one who can help you is you, just the same as the only one who can help me is me. I'm writing about the actual work of change, what is sometimes called transformation. We might get ideas from others and that can be good. Especially if we know that person has lived the change they're preaching. We might even agree to work with some mentor as we undertake to reconstruct our thinking, restructure our emotions. But if anything is to come of it, the heavy lifting must be done by the one seeking change.
Even when it no longer serves us. It takes time to incubate behaviors. When we finally notice them they're already well-entrenched in our psychology and physiology. Drug or alcohol addiction are perfect examples of this. By the time we start to wonder if maybe we have a problem, it's already too late. Behaviors are like that. Is it reasonable, then, to think that once we decide to make profound change it should happen immediately? Especially when powerful physiological adaptations have been so long in place, such as rewired synapses in the brain, altered blood and endocrine chemistries, life-styles including choice of friends, diet, and place, all of which shape or reflect
If I'm a rage-aholic, that's easy to spot. But, if I decide to live my life according to my Native American ancestry, moving away from mainstream-think can be a real challenge. When I add impatience to that, for whatever reason, I can find myself in a confused psychological wilderness with no compass. I'm trying to change my thinking with the same thinking I've always thought. Not happening.

We need to seriously consider contrasting, even opposing points of view. We need to consider what some call radical ideas, whether they're about personal development, the environment, economy, or allowing humankind to self-destruct. Maybe our time on the planet is coming to an end, what's the best way to see it through?

I suppose the point of all this is to remind you to be easy on yourself when you take off down that long, winding Transformation Road. Change is a part of life, not alien to it, not a "time out" kind of thing. Call on turtle medicine for patience, a quality you'll need too be persistent. You can learn to enjoy making changes in your life as you master the Art of Transformation and start to see the benefits of your efforts. Learn from others. Many others and not all in agreement with each other, either.

Ghandi said be the change you would have in the world. Good advice, if