Big Openings

I have a huge opportunity in front of me. Where did it come from? It has the potential of changing my life in major ways!

We Are in A Time of Big Change

 The changes that surround us now go well beyond our individual lives. They are harkening big shifts in the way we work, live, govern and relate with each other. Many changes have happened so quickly we are running to catch up with them. It can be dizzying to compare today’s world with that of even ten years ago. Many of these changes have created societal upheaval resulting in reaction, polarity and a feeling of apprehension, even fear.

Accepting that we are in a time of big change is not an easy thing to do. We didn’t ask for this, but it is here and is affecting many aspects of our lives. We see change all around us. We also see how others- people, institutions, governing bodies – are responding or reacting to the changes. It all makes for an unsettling environment. We are forced to find our center amidst it all, so that we can go forward.

Even if we hang on to the past, we can’t go back – it’s gone. We are not sure where we are and there is a lot of noise around us. Sometimes, it takes a while for us to recognize that we are being forced by circumstances to look forward to a new world that we are not accustomed to. However, a time of big change can be exciting too. It offers opportunities, makes space for our dreams and challenges us.

Some Openings Fit the Times

It doesn’t make sense that the Openings we encounter would reflect a world that is no longer here. Openings move us forward  from right where we are. As the times change, Openings change accordingly. That’s a jolt. Besides getting used to a time of big change, we are encountering Openings that can help us to move forward in it. They ask us to accept and to stretch in the changed world we are in.

The big Openings we encounter may appear to help us acclimate and eventually thrive within the change surrounding us. Other Openings have no mercy and involve big changes that match the times. All these Openings are benevolent. The challenge is for us to pivot and acclimate to the new circumstances that we are in. To get ourselves quickly to a place where we can consider the Openings before us.

It is worthwhile to look at the times we are in and consider what kind of Openings this time is generating. What is the change about? Are we to change individually? Collectively? Are systems and institutions meant to change? What works now and what doesn’t? Are we seeing aspects of our past lives dismantling? Is anything with promise emerging to replace the past? What kinds of Openings fit with the times we are in?

Facing Big Openings

Openings come when they want to. They don’t wait for our invitation. Best that we put some attention now to how we will face big Openings and choose which ones to enter. Here are some things to consider and focus on:

• Developing a good sense of the times we are in. What is changing? What will it mean for the world and for us?
• Identifying what is uncertain and unknown in the times we are in.
• Being in touch with how we feel and think about the changes that are occurring. Are we accepting of them? Resisting them? Ignoring them, at our peril?
• Where do we think the world is going and how do we want to live within it?
• Are we preparing for the changes we anticipate? Or will we wait and see?
• Have big Openings appeared to us already? Are we prepared to choose whether to enter them?
• What do we want to do to be ready for the big Openings yet to appear?