As we go on the winding path of life, through all of the adventures and turns of fortune, we unknowingly gravitate to that which brings about our death. These deaths are an ending to the way we’ve been living so that something new and unexpected can enter into our lives. This can be terrifying because often these deaths go right to the foundation we’ve been building our entire lives upon. Most certainly what was true for us in our twenties is no longer what is true for us today. We’ve died a hundred deaths in-between then and now. It isn’t possible to remain stagnant in our approach to life and still be able to live with gusto and joy. It’s only by being open to what’s on the horizon that leads us to more of who we are.

What we may not fully realize is that on some level we are actively courting the very things that will bring about these deaths. Somewhere deep inside we know what we need, what will give our life greater meaning, and we are inexorably driven towards it. The big question isn’t if the life-altering shifts will come, rest assured they will, the question is how will we handle them. Will we continue to be open and embrace these changes that force us to grow or will we resist and shut down? Refusing to change is how we lose life energy, drive, and verve. We die when we try to remain in the same place, it’s not natural, and life will throw everything at us to get us to move on. What’s certain is that many of the things we’ve become accustomed to fall away as we grow deeper into life. It’s really the death of pretense and artifice we are courting. But we have to decide which direction we will embrace, which life will we choose and in doing so which death we have to accept.

Being courageous enough to let something new and often scary take hold and bloom requires letting go of what has run its course. These may sound like dry words but try attaching them to a long marriage that may be at its end, or losing a job and certain kind of lifestyle that goes with it, then it becomes crystal clear that these deaths take us down to the bones of who we are and ask something more from us. What we can be certain of is that these deaths open the door for greater beauty, meaning, and mystery to enter into our lives. The difficult part is letting go of the known in exchange for what’s unknown. How we navigate these transitions tells the story of who we are and who we are capable of becoming.

Here’s to changes that rock our world and let more life in.

kb