Everything Changes

Pic taken this morning just as a bunch of snow was falling off the bough of a tree, which is the cascade you see on the right-hand side of this pic

Living in the woods as remotely and rustically as we do offers an opportunity to be more in tune with the nature of how everything changes on a deeper level then I found was available to me when living in town, where comforts and conveniences abound. It’s relatively easy to understand on an intellectual level that everything changes, but to really sink into this aspect of reality on a more profound level, on a level of deeper resonance of embodiment which leads to insight, more than rational thought is required.

There is a great deal to learn from the woods. And one of the teachings it offers centers around the nature of impermanence. It’s one thing to know in our minds that everything changes and a whole other thing entirely to live in such a way where we have the willingness and interest in practicing to act in accordance with the multitude of dynamic elements that are involved with change. Practice includes such things as putting intentional energy into being: a little more flexible; a little more adaptable; a little more open; a little more creative in thinking outside of the box; and able to discern the difference between what we have sway over and what we don’t. Without putting intentional effort into practicing to develop a better relationship with change, what tends to happen as we age is we get less and less okay with it. Our comfort zone gets smaller and smaller and we become more and more rigid in our ways, which causes constriction and suppression of the flow of life-force energy.

I’m a gal who is highly organized. I like knowing what’s coming. I like making plans and lists and writing everything down that needs to be done. I have daily and weekly routines that I craft and follow and I am extremely diligent in maintaining them. I believe strongly that very little happens without making plans (and then following said plan as much as possible). I am a big fan of scheduling friend meet ups and even phone chats because in the absence of setting up a day and time for such things to take place, it’s really easy for life to intervene and time to slip away into the logistics of living we all have to tend to. I’m not the type of person who believes in fate or hoping for the best. I am action-oriented and am under no illusion that I have a bunch of time to do whatever it is. When something is important to me or something needs to be done, I arrange my time in such a way to prioritize doing it. And I am under no impression that what I want in life will magically happens on its own or as a matter of luck. Everything takes work. And by work I mean active participation and applied effort. By work I mean ongoing engaged practice. I say all of this as a backdrop in order to convey how not natural or easy it is for me to more fully submerge myself in the wisdom teachings of how truly everything is of the nature to change.

In my view, certain people have a higher aptitude for being on better terms with change, whereas for others of us it’s a little (or a lot) harder. Although I also believe there is a shared universal human quality in the mix. I reckon all of us find it anywhere from challenging to incredibly difficult to near impossible to accept changes that we really don’t want or don’t like or find wildly uncomfortable. It’s a heck of a lot easier to be cool with changes that we want and like and play to our favor.

I regard myself as being someone for whom change is perhaps a little harder than it is for some. Like Mike for example. He is able to roll with changes a lot better than I can. He is a big picture thinker and a visionary type of person and I think that helps him ride the waves of change easier. He and I have very different personality types. We both have skillsets that are very different from one another, which can also be incredibly complimentary. It’s a yin-yang situation. He and I can help to balance each other other. However. It has taken us a long time to figure out how to harness and blend our significant differences, which is work that has gotten easier but still very much continues.

I continue to find it incredibly satisfying, nourishing, and fulfilling to be a student of the woods. To be a resident living in the midst of so many teachings offered by the wilderness surrounding us. I am so very grateful to be open enough and willing enough and also interested and ready to receive the wisdom that is on display in abundance here at Empty Mountain.

It is good medicine for me to be living in the woods. I am getting a very good education here. And I feel supported especially by my tree teachers. I feel warmly held and kindly guided towards good growth. I am also learning how to feel in genuine community and kinship with the natural world. My former ideas of separation are becoming less and less.

This morning I awoke to four fresh inches of snow hanging heavy on the trees. It’s still coming down. What a delight and beauty the snow is. What an enchantment it adds to the quiet woods. Here in western Montana we are well versed in weather changes. We have a year round opportunity to learn how to adjust and better flow along with the nature of temperature and weather changes. Well seasoned residents here know full well to wear and bring along layers of clothing when going off and about. Our temperature can vary greatly even in the span of just one day, at any time of the year. Last weekend it was full sun and almost 50-degrees here. Today we are accumulating a thick blanket of snow.

Once again the reminder comes. Everything is of the nature of change.