As we enter the beautiful month of May, we’re going to be playing with the theme of “Change Gracefully – Or Not.” When I think of Life, It is all about change. You may be wondering why I capitalize Life and It. If you’ve read my column over these 19 years, you hopefully have picked up on the fact that those capitalizations represent the eternality of Spirit. To me Life is not just about the experience of this earth plane but goes well beyond this physical existence.
It’s baseball season once again and I find myself immersed in rooting, once again, for our Padres. The former “voice of the Padres,” announcer Jerry Coleman, was a baseball player himself and a Colonial in the Air Force during WWII. Whenever someone asked him about the way things “used to be.” He would respond: “That was then, and this is now.” There was a very wise man, for he knew life doesn’t go backward but forward. No matter how hard we wish or try, Life is about progression. We have the option and opportunity to either drag our feet or go with the _ ow. One important element though to take with us as we move through change is to be well seated in our core values. Core values are our fundamental beliefs, ideals and practices that inform how we conduct our lives. Do you know and follow your core values? You might stop right now and jot down your top 5. Honesty has always been toward the top of my list. Perhaps yours might include learning, love, respect, compassion, courage, imagination and more.
When we are grounded in our core values, the winds of change can come and go, yet we will be girded with a strength from within that brings us through those times of change, challenge, and transition. Say with me: “I am seated in my core values so that I am comfortable and at ease with the winds of change. My Life is an ever evolving one. I take the best from the past and live joyously in the now.”
—Rev. Gay Beauregard, Alpine Church of Spiritual Living
