Better The Devil You Know Than The Devil You Don’t.

No one likes change.  It’s scary, uncomfortable and causes anxiety. The reason change is so scary is because we are afraid of the unknown. I’m sure you heard the saying, “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”

Posting this thought for the day “The changes we dread most may contain our salvation” by Barbara Kingsolver and watching a silk moth emerge from its cocoon the other day started me thinking about change.

No one likes change.  It’s scary, uncomfortable and causes anxiety. The reason change is so scary is because we are afraid of the unknown. I’m sure you heard the saying, “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.” If you think about that saying for a minute it implies that whatever inevitable change that is coming will be a bad thing. But maybe the change is a good thing. We are hardwired to resist change, but The Universe or God or Buddha or whatever you call it doesn’t care if we don’t want change. If the change that is coming is for a greater purpose or our growth, it’s coming with or without our permission. We see it and hear about it every day. We lose our jobs, we lose our loved ones, we have to move, we get divorced, we get married, we get a new job,  we have kids, etc. The list is endless. This causes such anxiety inside that we don’t want it, and even if we do want it, we are afraid and resist it. That is also the reason that great spiritualists will say, when we are right at the cusp of growing beyond our comfort zone, the greatest resistance will show up.

I know from personal experience that I didn’t like change. Usually, I would resist it and get very anxious, The Universe had a great remedy for me… it forced change. I am not talking about minor changes I am talking about major life changes. I have learned and am still learning to slowly stop resisting and just go with life when change comes. To gently slide myself into what the new has opened up for me.  It seems to be working much better I can tell you. Where before I used to go kicking and screaming now I am much more open to observing and allowing myself to see what happens. The good news is some amazing new things have happened because of change, things I never would have experience if those changes didn’t happen. I’ve also grown a backbone. After you get knocked down pretty hard you realize you’re not afraid any longer to speak your mind and your truth and let the chips fall where they may.

I gave my 4-year-old niece Bella a cocoon of a large silk moth a few weeks ago. It has been sitting in a clear container on a table and we have been waiting to see it hatch from a caterpillar to a moth.  The other day she hatched (it definitely was a female, I looked it up). Bella named her Sweetie Pie Pumpkin and we called her Sweetie Pie for short. After Sweetie Pie hatched she released a very dark liquid which was part of her shedding her old self as a caterpillar. This reminded me of when we go through a change there is residual stuff we need to shed to embrace the new changes, just like the moth.

We put Sweetie Pie outside and she just sat there for hours, occasionally stretching out her wings and getting used to her new self. She would flutter every once in a while and pump her body. About 4 hours later all of a sudden she releases the last of the remaining fluid and opened her wings all the way. She fluttered fast and furious for about 5 minutes. Then she left her perch, fluttered haphazardly on the grass up my arm onto my shoulder. She took another minute all the while fluttering her newly expanded wings and gathering her strength and took off over the trees.  I thought it was such a great metaphor to what change can be if we don’t resist it, I loved witnessing it first hand.

So when change comes and it will allow yourself sometime to cocoon and then expand your wings, gain your strength and soar.

xoxo ~ Melisa