LET LIFE LIVE THROUGH YOU

Rule no 13 of Shamz e Tabriz: Try not to resist the changes, which come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?

They say change is the only constant. Everything is on the move. The whole universe, this earth and every atom on it, time and everything that seems to move and not move with time is constantly changing. One thing transforms itself into another and the cycle of change keeps moving. Change is everywhere and we go through it every moment. As Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that "you can't step into the same river twice" and yet we all want our lives to be a constant. We teach our kids that ending has to be happily ever after....We dream that happy times are going to last forever and we do everything in our hands to keep the things as they are even if present circumstances are pathetic and a change is actually required. 

Why are we so afraid of change. Usually it has to do with the fear of unknown. People don't want change as it is something which is unknown and unfamiliar. Also there seems to be no guarantees that the change will be for better. Fear can keep people from being happy in the present but fear can also keep people from being happy in future because it doesn't let a person act to change things. Same acts same results. Simple. Taking risks is not what is taught to us as children. We are told to take calculated risks and that's what we do all our lives, Calculate... what if this doesn't results in that.. what if this results in that and further makes things worse.  

We should feel content in life is one aspect of living life but at the same time our readiness to evolve with change, our ability to live life through change and through us is also an aspect which we ignore most of the time. We ignore that contentment is also not a constant and we need to continually evolve to be content. In fact we are so afraid of the whole  prospect of change and what it may bring to us that instead of living through change, we start rationalizing things, calculating what the change can bring, how it will affect us in our future and what if our whole lives turn upside down. 

I do agree with the thought that change won't change everything and change is not the answer to everything either. However, change will keep you on your toes, will push you to learn and experience what is unfamiliar and very different, will make you realize your limits and who you are and also make you live a fulfilled life. 

To live a fulfilled life you not only need courage and passion to change but something much deeper than that. Passion is driven by Adrenalin and gives you a high for the moment. It makes you reckless and take risks. At that moment we are more than willing to welcome change. However, this is like being brave when you are scared out of your senses. When you can't think rationally because passion has blinded all your senses. I feel that when Shamz says let life live through you, he tells us to have deep faith in the nature of change which is way beyond courage and passion. To let life live through us we need to identify faith and not passion. Clarity has to come from within and it will come only when we have this deep faith that change is the only constant and that life evolves to teach you different aspects which may or may not be pleasant but are important in our journey of life. 

I have realized that first step towards change is to accept your present feelings and emotions. I personally am going through change. There are many aspects of my life that need change. I love my job but not the company I am in. My first step is to acknowledge that I am afraid that if I leave this job and company I may be in dire financial mess. This fear is in fact more acute because I have been in such situations earlier and they have resulted in loss of self esteem and confidence. However, I am getting more and more convinced that a change is required and that I can't calculate the risks all the time and if I do have faith in my own abilities and also in the nature of change then I have to let go of my fears.  I have to take a leap of faith and decide and act accordingly. My personal life needed changes too. My rigid ideas and beliefs were not letting me experience something different. It took a long time to prepare myself to change into something that I knew I was not. But the beauty of life lies here..., as I actually took the first tiny step towards changing myself things started moving to a very pleasant direction and with the slightest of change and faith my happiness quotient has skyrocketed. So all I can say is that have faith in change and let life live through you.