Revolution and Revelation

As a teacher, I am presented every day with the view of humans as developing and changing beings. When going through training as a teacher, and especially as a Montessori teacher, you are presented with the distinct stages that each human passes through on the road to adulthood. You are also presented with the idea that development is somehow complete at that magical point of adulthood, and that what you end with is forever determined by what you developed during these early stages. Kind of like, you are stuck with what you got or did not get as you grew up.

Now, what I observe as a human being in myself and in the other beings in my life, is that this is really not the case. Not as long as we are open and willing to evolve.

What I see, in myself and in those who I have had the privilege to be close to in times of change, is that we have many chances to "make up" what we did not get, or what was poorly learned in an early stage. When presented with crisis, or catastrophic change, a child will simply adapt. It is the nature of a child to adapt. Some of these adaptations are not so helpful later in life, especially when one has adapted to a negative environment. The adult presented with crisis or catastrophic change will often fight it, even to his or her grave detriment. If we as adults find a way to let go, to approach the world as new and fresh as we did as children, we have a chance to change. We have a chance to grow, even beyond hurts that happened long ago.

I see this in a kind of coil or spiral shape. We are always moving in a line, outward and forward, but the line will approach, again and again, the approximate same point. At those moments we have a chance to build on that point, to move beyond a certain moment in our past. If we succeed, if we have enough courage to let go and learn and change and grow, then we are catapulted into a new and changed kind of life. Reborn. And I believe that in a life well lived this happens again and again. If done well, the results are increasingly more subtle, but always revelatory and renewing.

These are my thought as I move into a new year.

To have the chance to see this change, in oneself or in someone close to you, is precious. It takes a lot of courage to live and grow and love in this world. I salute each being who has the courage to do so.