friday five: how do you spell "change?"

At RevGals Martha invites us to "answer these five questions about change."

1) Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and seen yourself with surprise? Why?

Sure. I think we carry images of ourselves in our head that don't necessarily jibe with reality. For instance, I think of myself as thinner than I actually am--so those mirror reality checks? Yikes! I am generally a realistic person, but hope also springs eternal in my soul, so I take this as a good sign that I have a healthier self-image than the physical match-up actually suggests. I suppose this could be denial, but I don't think so. This also prompts some inspiration to do something about the weight, although taking action is another matter entirely! 

2) Have you ever witnessed a change in routine at church that upset people? (Hahahahaha!!!! I know you have!)

How much time do you have? You name it--resistance ensues.

3) Have you ever been surprised or inconvenienced by a change in a public setting (not church)?

Change is constant. The Latest inconvenience is the addition of traffic lights at busy intersections in town.  Next week it will be something else.  The change that frustrated me most was when a local store changed its Saturday hours to being open every other Saturday, and would close at noon. What? I worked out of town and during the week they closed at 4 pm, so Saturday was the only day I could shop there.  I understand that privately owned businesses are free to make decisions to suit the lives of their owner and staff, but this one really seemed to set the business up for failure.  That sound you hear is me, banging my head against the wall.

4) Has the passage of time changed your understanding of something you used to think you knew for sure?

I'm not sure that I have held that I knew anything for sure, although the thing about which I was most confident was knowledge of myself. What I have learned in a new way is that who we are evolves and shifts through life. Before you say, "duh!" let me put it this way. Some years ago I overheard two recently retired men catching up with one another, and one of them said, "when I had the interest (in whatever the subject was) I didn't have time for it. Now I have the time and I no longer have the interest." I have discovered that this kind of change does, in fact, happen, and I didn't expect it. It's a bit sobering.

5) Is there something you're trying to change, or want to change, in your life right now?

It looks like I am changing careers.  The loss of my job, crappy as that is, also creates the opportunity to switch gears. I am listening to my heart first, and it is steering me in a new direction.  It is proving to be a really fascinating process and experience, both exhilarating and frightening. All I can really say at this point is, "stay tuned!"