“Sometimes it isn’t about the fear of the unknown, it’s about the fear of the known coming to an end,” Ashmi Pathela.  As we spoke about yesterday, there comes a time when we realize that we can no longer be who we are.  Sometimes we see that who we are simply isn’t a fit, or that it doesn’t align with who we are meant to be.  In either case, similar to what we spoke about yesterday, there comes a time when we have to move on.  We are meant to evolve and nothing lasts forever.  The more we hang onto something that has served its purpose, the more painful the experience.  As someone with a keen affinity for nostalgia and holding onto things, I know this is extremely difficult.  It’s like we don’t want to lose that connection or memory so we hold onto the reminder as long as we can.  The issue is that the mind can’t distinguish a thought from reality so the longer we hold onto things that no longer serve, the longer we keep ourselves in that state. 

There is also this connection between nervous and excited—the brain can’t tell the difference between nervous and excited.  I often think there is a similar connection between fear and the unknown.  We are animals so anything unknown has the potential to harm us, that’s why we are trained to fear it/be cautious.  But there are times when it really isn’t that we don’t know what will happen, it’s more that we had a real connection or love for how things were and we may have thought they were working so letting it go is hard.  We are just a little sad it’s over.  Naturally there is a comfort in the way things were because it was predictable, but even if we move forward with eyes open and understanding where we are going, it can be…sad.  There’s also an anxiousness about whether or not we will feel that way again.  If we give it up, will we get it back?

The truth is that sometimes, no, we won’t get it back.  Who we are becoming isn’t who we were so the same environment/responses/feelings will not serve—we can’t go back to that in the process of evolution.  But there are times that we get something greater.  We find contentment in a new way of doing things and it’s even better because it’s more authentically aligned with who we are.  Rather, we have aligned more authentically with it.  In looking for the security we once felt, sometimes we find a new level of security in our abilities.  Growth means taking a step off the limb to see that we can fly.  No matter how we look at it, things do come to an end.  The natural passing of time sees to that on its own.  Whether we understand it or not, things do not stay the same—and that’s a good thing.  When we appreciate what has been, we learn to integrate it into who we are becoming, and then we can lovingly and confidently step into the next phase.