The Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously said, “you can't step in the same river twice”. He believed that the world was transient. That everything changes.
Looking out at the vibrancy and life around me, the sprouting tree leaves and blossoms of spring, I can see the transformations of the seasons around me. The gradual changes of winter to spring and the persistence of flowing rivers make change seem inevitable, steady and easy. ‘Change is everywhere, so it's something that just happens, no questions asked’.
But that’s not what I’m finding.
The last few months have been difficult for me. The fallout has involved a lot of healing, evaluation and self-reflection. Things and people that I care about have fallen by the wayside, including myself. And picking up the fractured pieces of my life doesn't feel at all steady, easy or inevitable.
Right now I don't feel like a flowing river. I feel like a stopped one, almost grown stagnant, that's only just found a new contour to flow down. A trickle has started to push through the dirt and carve a new path, a new way of being.
I don't know who will be waiting for me at the end of this journey; the Michaela that I uncover may feel like a complete stranger to me. As the stream makes its way towards the sea and the seasons cycle on, so I must continue growing and changing for the better.
There's still a long way to go.