Change surrounds us. It lies within us, too. The trees in the yard have changed. They've grown taller. Their leaves die and scatter on the ground in the fall. 

We don't resemble our baby pictures much anymore, either.

Like trees, we've grown up. As babies, we couldn't walk. But we learned to run, ride bikes, go out alone to movies and parties. 

Some changes we don't notice while they're going on. The snow melts; the birds fly south; our hair grows a little every day.

Other changes startle us. A best friend moves away. Perhaps a favorite grandparent dies.

These changes we wish hadn't happened, and we have to remember that change is as natural as breathing.

We can't keep it from happening; but we can trust that change never means to harm us. 

It's a sign we're growing up.
 
 

The great end of life is not knowledge but action.
 

-- Thomas Huxley
 
 

Sometimes we have good ideas about how to make things better. We might know we need to spend more quality time with others.

We might know it would be better if mealtime was not so hectic and really became a time for sharing the day's events. 

Knowing what needs to happen is part of the process of change.

But we have to put that knowledge into action.

All our good intentions, no matter what they may be, do not really mean anything until we move into action.

A hug is better than a thought of love; a story read together is better than a wonderful vacation that did not get past the planning stage, just as a finished house is something we can live in, while the blueprint is soon forgotten. 

When we act on our ideas, we put ourselves into the world as a force for change.

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© 1991 Hazelden Foundation from the book Today's Gift