Change Can Offer Beauty


Hello friends,

Change can feel hard. Sometimes change is accompanied by a deep sense of loss. Or we have foreboding, and fear what may come.

That’s okay. Natural. Wise, even.

Other times, the thought of change feels like a breath of fresh air. A necessary break from what has been.

But the reality is? Like it or not, fear it or welcome it, change will always come. As Heraclitus said, millennia ago: “You can’t step in the same river twice.”

The river flows. It is always, ever, changing.

The seasons change.

Our bodies change.

Our thinking, hopefully, changes, growing to embrace new information.

Climate changes, sometimes because of ordinary time bound occurrences, and other times because of human intervention.

Society? Well, some change is accelerated to dizzying speed, while other facets seem to be on endless repeat.

What helps with change that feels unsettling, worrisome, or wrong?

Our inner states. We can adjust our responses. Rather than being buffeted about by every stray emotion, we can cultivate a steadiness inside.

And from that steadiness, we can act.

Why am I thinking of all of that this week? Well, there’s the world around us, but mostly, it is because of some fallen tips of a Glorybower bush.

The fading fuchsia colored stems and petals lay in stark contrast to the damp grey sidewalk. And at the center of each five pointed pink star, shone round fat jewels in shades of blue and pale gold.

Even fallen, even fading, the Glorybower tips were beautiful.

Does change worry me? Of course. Despite courting liminal spaces, I actually dislike transitions. And daily, I wish the world we’d built together was a kinder, more sheltering place.

But I don’t fear what is to come. Deep inside me, I trust that I—and you—will do our best.

Will we make mistakes? Of course. We always do. But still, we can find ways to remind each other of the beauty in ourselves and in this world.

Best wishes - Thorn


Want a pleasant break from your troubles? I'm part of a cozy ebook bundle! Pay anything from $5-20 (or up) for four to ten books.

T. Thorn Coyle

Read more from T. Thorn Coyle
A sign on a wood utility pole: This is not a time for disbelief. This is a time for new beliefs. A time to remake the impossible.

Hello friends, On one of my recent walks, I saw a sign stapled to the utility pole which read: “This is not a time for disbelief. This is a time for new beliefs, a time to remake the impossible.” Yes, indeed. It is also a time to take stock of what we do believe. What are our ethics? What are our core values? How do we wish to live? When we focus only on what we do not want, we tilt the world in that direction. Our thoughts and emotions become consumed, our bodies and actions dragged into the...

close up of a cluster of pink manzanita buds amid pointed green leaves

Hello friends, When I was a teen, one of my favorite films was Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi. With a score by Philip Glass, it portrayed a world that moved too quickly, a human made world that had become too mechanized, too out of control. The title was said to mean “life out of balance” from a compound Hopi word that roughly translates—or so my research shows—corrupted or chaotic life or existence. That film made a powerful impression on my young self. I sat in the dark theater as the...

camellia flowers on a wet sidewalk

Hello friends, As I write this, cold, hard rains have returned after a brief false spring. The tulip magnolia buds that were just beginning to bloom lay in husks on damp sidewalks. Pink camellias lay in slick heaps, a danger to those without sturdy shoes. There’s a lot of danger in the world right now, for far too many of us. One thing that is getting me through is gratitude. In the wash of bad news, I see people showing up for one another. I see communities rallying to protect themselves and...