Everything Changes … Especially Us

With leaves changing all around us, Sister Amata Shina
reflects on the new beginnings that come with change

By Sister Amata Shina

Just about two weeks ago, this chrysanthemum bush (shown above) had no flowers on it. It was covered with green buds. Look at it today, filled with gorgeous yellow flowers.

Changes occur in nature just as they do in human nature. Consider the trees at this time of year, as their leaves are changing to a brilliant red, orange and yellow. So, too, do changes take place in our human nature.

“Everything changes.” Everything we love and care about will change, transform, and eventually pass away. But that truth has two sides, for it is equally true that every moment brings with it new possibilities. Aging is beyond our control, but how we age is up to us.

Everything changes or ... we could say ... everything ages. Aging is not just change, but irreversible change. Irreversible change is different because there is no going back.

As I was preparing to write this article, I came across a poem written by Stephanie Lawrence and published in March 2020. It seems to clarify what I am trying to say about aging. The poem reads:

I look in the mirror and see a stranger looking back at me.
Who’s that person standing there with wrinkled skin and such gray hair? Could it be me?

Yesterday my hair was brown. My skin was smooth, tan all around.
My shoulders straight, my posture proud. My voice had strength to call out loud ... my name.

I could dance all through the night until I saw the morning light,
And then I’d nap a short time and I’d take my morning walk again.
Head for work, eyes all aglow. Nothing ‘bout me then was slow. Was that yesterday?

Today I wake up when I can. I try to stretch and cramps set in.
I stand up tall, at least I try, but my arthritis makes me sigh.
My butt, it sags, my waist is gone. I shuffle now across the lawn.
My walker keeps me on my feet, but sometimes my butt hits the street ... anyway.

Today is here, I thank the Lord. I have no tumors, I’m just bored.
The sword of life cuts quickly through the hours and days for me and you.
I had dreams yesterday when life was grand and I could say
“Someday when I’m old ...” But that was yesterday.

And then I find today is here, and I am looking in that mirror.
I see me, and suddenly I am my mother, don’t you see?
The hourglass of life begins at birth, and one day it will end.
And through the sands of time are born new generations that will form.

And one day looking in that mirror, a girl will see a stranger there and wonder where
she’s seen somewhere that person with wrinkles and such gray hair.

When you look in the mirror, who do you see looking back at you? We know we are getting old, and we have accepted it. The “new me” is here to stay, and our job is to learn to live with it, adjust to it and enjoy it. We need to remember that change works both ways. It is not just wear and tear; it’s also new beginnings.