Adapting and evolving is part of life
The beginning of a new month always gives me renewed energy - particularly as we head towards summer - and motivates me to start making plans. It’s also a great opportunity to press the reset button and refocus on what’s important, so that we can reprioritise our lives according to what’s happening around us.
If you follow any of my social channels, you’ll already know that I’ve been keeping a close eye on a swans’ nest near my office. Recently, that family of swans provided me with a wonderful reminder of how important adaptability really is. Now that the eggs have all hatched into nine perfect cygnets, the adult swans have built a second, smaller nest closer to the pondweed which is their food source, and much easier for the cygnets to get in and out of. They’re now learning crucial survival skills and becoming stronger swimmers every day.
We can see in nature, just as in our own lives, that our needs are not static: they change and evolve constantly and just because something was right for us at one time, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for us now. Sometimes, we need to be able to adapt as life changes around us.
I’ve been facing some challenges in my own life recently, so I’ve been trying to give myself the time and space I need to rediscover what’s important to me, and to make sure that my priorities and actions are aligned. As we head towards the summer months, I’ve crafted a rough three-month plan for how I want to spend my time. I know that I need to continue to focus on giving myself the space I need to work through some of the things that I’m living through right now, rather than trying to get ahead of myself (something I’m often guilty of) and pretending everything is fine. It’s also important to me to prioritise spending quality time with my daughter, who goes to university in September.
Why not take the opportunity to think about how you’re feeling, and what you need right now. Perhaps you need to give yourself more space in order to set new goals and intentions; perhaps your priority is supporting your kids as they approach the end of the school term; or perhaps it’s time to start planning your next vacation and how you want to spend your time over the summer.
Whatever it is, remember that changing to adapt to your circumstances - whatever they are - is a natural part of life. We’re all living through change - whether it’s change that we’ve chosen or change that life has thrown in our path. In the words of Kakuzo Okakura, “the art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
Start by asking yourself what your needs are right now, then make whatever changes you can, however small, in order to give yourself what you need.
