Thoughts on Change

Quotes and reflections by Chris Mathe, PhD

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~ Anais Nin

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.
~ Henri Bergson

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
~ James A. Baldwin

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
~ Anatole France

A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change.
~ Katharine Butler Hathaway

You cannot step twice into the same river, for other waters are continually flowing in.
~ Heraclitus

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.
~ Charles DuBois

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
~ Anais Nin

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~ Mohandas Gandhi
brainyquote.com

Change is a continuous process of widening our perspectives and allowing more possibilities into our lives. Yes, it’s inevitable and everything is constantly changing, but we can choose to ride this wave with wonder and abundance or with fear and grasping. The choices we make determine how much joy and pain we feel in the process.

Why embracing change is the key to a good life – BBC Culture
What Makes Change Difficult? | Psychology Today