Change

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." 

-C.S. Lewis

Wow! What a concept! Thinking about all the changes people want to make at the beginning of a new year and realizing that change is truly inevitable! We can just sit back and "go bad"-remaining stagnant or we can "hatch".

Here's the thing-how much effort does a bird make in the hatching process? Of course, he has to move around a little, squirm, stretch, and hope that the eggshell is compatible to his quest for freedom. 

There are people in my life who are always in turmoil because they want to stay in the comfort of their shell. Movement of any kind is frightening and so they curl up, refuse to stretch for fear of that shell cracking, and never learn to fly!

This year, when I see myself  leaning in that direction, I want to just move a little and see what happens. I will accept invitations, return phone calls, and speak to strangers more often. It will be a stretch for me to go to parties where there are lots of people I don't know, engage in phone calls when I would rather be creating something or sitting in the sun. Saying hello to someone new does not have to end in a forever relationship, but what if it does?

I am grateful to C.S. Lewis for many of his well written books and his joyful outlook on life, but really delighted that he thought about changes and growth in a way that helps me to see the logic and simplicity of moving forward. I see growth as a willingness to allow the process, then taking the action of pushing and stretching, and then trusting that once out of the shell, the flying will come naturally!