Life Lessons: Growth requires change

One thing I will never understand is why people are so afraid of change. Some people will never look to build a relationship with someone outside of their circle of friends… or better put, “safety net”. I was talking to a friend tonight about how some of his friends and family never thought of leaving New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina made them relocate.

Now, even though I feel everyone should be free to do what they want to do. Some people don’t want to grow. One of my uncles has never lived outside his mother’s house. He might be fine with that. But, I know that I want to grow in life… and growing requires me to learn new things, build relationships with new people, go new places… essentially it means to change.

I let people do them. So let me do me.

I probably have 3 sets of relationships. I have my friends – these are people who I’ve met and over time we built a close relationship. Our connection could have been initially made on any type of level. I’ve met so many friends in various places, like: at work, on a college campus, in a music studio, at a party, in a coffee shop, online, at church or a bible study.

I think people use the word “friend” too loosely. I don’t call everyone I know my “friend”. I know a lot of people, but I have few friends.

My acquaintances – these are people I know, but I don’t know. They are the people I smile when I see them, I know their face but I don’t always know their name 🙂 . I’ve met and spent quality time with a lot of people and many of them fall into this relationship category. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to know a lot of people. I feel in this day and age, the only way to succeed in life professionally is to network and build good relationships.

My family – these are my blood relatives (everyone knows what family means). To me, family means loyalty. I don’t have to like my family, but I love and support them nonetheless. And, I know not everyone feels this way. It’s just how I was raised. I honestly consider my closest friends as part of my extended family.

Now… out of these 3 sets of relationships I have seen changes in all of them. There are people who I wouldn’t recognize if they were standing next to me, but at one time was my best of friends. People change. Life happens. I remember when I was in college, I used to spend almost every day talking and thinking about this girl. Now I don’t think about her at all. I wouldn’t even recognize her if I saw her.

I’ve even had acquaintances who are now close friends. One of my close friends was first just another coworker who I met while working a temporary job in California. Sometimes people just connect. And, even though we live in different states, I am closer to her than my next door neighbors, as we always find time to stay in touch with one another.

And, I’ve even had changes in my family members, as people have to leave this life and pass on to the next. Death comes to us all. It happens to everything that was born into creation. Death in itself should be a constant reminder that nothing stays the same.

If you are seeking a new better job… or if you want to be in a loving relationship, and looking to meet someone new… or if you are tired of doing the same things and living the same old life… guess what? It all starts with making changes and getting new relationships.

The first step starts with developing a better relationship with God, and increasing your faith that you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you. And the second step is all about surrounding yourself with positive people with wisdom. I promise you if you can follow through with those two steps… things will start happening that you never dreamed of.