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Soul Salon
St ok e t he Fire of Chang e
by Rena M. Reese
Change is a beautiful thing. Or so we have heard.
Actually change, while not always easy, surely fires
things up a bit. I recall when our family lost power for
4 days after a significant snowstorm last winter. We
huddled around our fireplace for warmth and I
continually got a visual of this very lesson. When the
fire seemed to be a heartbeat away from going out–
with only faintly glowing embers left– a simple
readjustment of the logs with the poker got it abalaze
quickly. Just moving things around fired it up.
Desiring change, planning for change, and
implementing a plan for change, is worth our attention.
But it requires more from us that just ―wanting it‖.
Effective, successful changes require more than
thought, planning and goals. You have to visualize life
with this change and how it will positively impact your
life. Secondly, YOU must really want the change, or
all the thinking, planning and goal setting in the world
won’t get you to your desired outcome. It is like the
difference between reading a how-to book and then
actually implementing it.
t h i r d s t e p a n d s o o n … .
You do not kneed to know all of the answers. Just
simply know that you want freedom from the past way
of doing, being, or believing-- and be willing to recreate
the status quo. Your faith and your willingness to act
are two ingredients the universe uses to guide you
through the How-To’s of the change you seek.
When we try to make changes in our life, even
things that are really good for us, we may find
resistance rears up. It may seem that sometimes,
things get worse before they get better. If you are
trying to stop smoking, you may feel you are placed in
situations when everyone around you is smoking. Or a
crisis may arise that taxes your nerves and has you
craving your nicotine fix more than a usual day.
If you are trying to eat healthier, get fit, heal from an
illness, get your financial world in order, whatever it
is; if it gets worse before it gets better, that is great.
It is a good sign simply because this blip is evidence of
a shift. If there is an energy shift, an attitude shift–
even if it seems small and of little consequence, you
are stepping toward change. The universe is
responding, first with what appears to be resistance,
but it is really part of the re-organization of the way
things are now.
Please don’t be afraid to commit to a change until you
feel you are fully prepared, you know all the answers
or have choreographed it to the point that you are sure
you cannot fail. Sometimes, change takes FAITH and a
first step. Then FAITH and a second step…. and then a
What can you control? Well, actually a lot. You can
control your thoughts and what you choose in this
moment. This moment is all any of us has, really. Once
you are clear on the change you seek, you can ask
yourself as choices arise, ―Will this choice bring me
closer to, or further from, my goal?‖ Moment to
moment, choice by choice we will find we have arrived
at the very place, or even a better place than we
dreamed of.
Rena M. Reese is the founder of Soul
Salon International, an inspirational
multimedia company which offers
coaching, consulting, web-design,
publishing support, and fundraising
opportunities for individuals and
groups. She is the author of several
inspirational titles, a professional
speaker and coach as well as the
host of a weekly radio program, The Soul Salon. Please
visit www.SoulSalonInternational.com and connect with
her on Twitter @TheSoulSalon.
September, 2011 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 55