TIME FOR A CHANGE

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

~Thomas Edison

Ever feel like this?  No matter how hard you try it just won't work. But as bitter a pill as it is to swallow, failures are necessary steps on the road to learning and growth.  Ouch.  I don't like the word failure.  It is messy to assume that it is black and white, all failures or all successes.  Sorry, but life is just not this simple.

Maybe it is time for a change.  I love the quote by Jack Welch, "Change before you have to."  Sometimes we have to change.  Sometimes we are forced to change. Sometimes there is no other way but to change.  But an interesting premise is found when we consider this one thing -  what if we initiate change and intentionally plan for it? In other words, change before it is forced on us.

Change is good. And remember Nietzsche's "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."  Sometimes I wish I could hit him.  I am strong enough thank you. Then I pick up the pieces and move forward again.

Much like our warriors we get stronger not just because we go through the tough times, but because we are forced to call upon our best selves to get through this rough stuff. I draw on a variety of techniques - tears,  humor, patience, courage, and sometimes chocolate.

I love my work, the foundation, the warriors and yes the failures and the successes.  But they are not who I am. I am more than my work.  I need other sources of satisfaction, new possibilities, new miracles, new magic, new mistakes, new optimism, new compassion and new, sweet simple things. 

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces.  I would still plant my apple tree."  ~Martin Luther

I am not so certain I can restore normality to chaos much longer. It is taking its toll. Maybe I do need to plant an apple tree, or go to Sedona, rent a condo in Santa Fe, revisit my Rocky Mountains, or sit and write the book I have been struggling to write for a year.  There are decisions to be made.

"What if we're wrong? We waffle and weave.  Maybe we can put off the decision for a while.  Maybe things will be clearer tomorow.  Not making a decision is making a decision - and it may well be the worst decision we could make."  ~Linda Picone

I have made a decision! And the good part is if I have taken the wrong path, I can always turn around and go back.  But if I don't make a decision, I'll never know the right way to go.  And ultimately, how terribly sad that would be.