New Ways To Go

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artinstituteofportland/ / CC BY 2.0

While noodling around online, I came across A Definition of Fashion by Cynthia Nellis at About.com.  The first part of her definition:  ”Fashion is always changing, slightly elusive, extremely seductive” could be applied to my blog for today on adapting to change.

Life and fashion are pretty much alike.  They’re both always changing.  Of course we seldom think twice about changing our clothes.  Open your closet or wardrobe doors.  We pick and choose our outfits based on the weather, function, comfortability, what’s trendy and what’s not.  Keep this, toss that.  The seasons come and go.  And so, too, do our clothes. 

We also reassess our image.  Do we want to appear modern, hip, professional, militaristic, feminine, bold?  When we wear leather, animal prints, ruffles or torn jeans we affect our image –  if only for that day.  We waffle back and forth between our desire to stay on the cutting edge of fashion and wanting to feel comfy in our same old duds.   Our fashion style takes into consideration, color, patterns, length and tightness.  We make creations and adjustments every day.  And that’s a lot like life.

We’re busy acquiring new knowledge, gaining new skills, trying new things.  We question our values, struggle with our beliefs and wonder how we can make a difference.  Sometimes we’re content with the way we are and how we’re perceived in the world.  Other times we want to reinvent ourselves with a new persona.  We want to be more adventurous, bold, caring, artsy, athletic, prosperous.  Sometimes, we want only to be noticed.   

While making a wardrobe change doesn’t seem to be a big deal for most of us, we’re not so quick when it comes to making or dealing with change in our lives.  Is it that we’re afraid to take risks?  If we’re flops in a fashion sense, no big deal.  The outcome may be of little importance.  Whereas making a life change takes on huge significance. 

So what if we took an approach to change that is second nature to wardrobe changers?  When wardrobe changers shop for a new look, they know it will take as long as necessary.  They’re prepared to take risks.  Figuring out what they want, where they might get it, trying things on until they find something that works is expected.  Exploring, experimenting.  It all takes time.  Finding out what works for you in life is a similar process.  But when you’re settling in to your new “wardrobe” beware.  Change is not far away.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe next season. 

Life is slightly elusive.  Maybe what you want in life seems out of reach or maybe you don’t have a clue what it is you truly want.  Maybe something doesn’t feel quite right.  For some of us, it may feel like we’re on the outskirts of change never actually sinking down into it as we would with a comfy chair.

Life is also extremely seductive.  Ever seen a mannequin wearing something totally outrageous then wonder what you’d look like wearing it?  What you’d feel like wearing it?  Ever thumb through fashion mags and dream about what your life would be like if you dressed the way the models do?  It can be very enticing to break out of  same old, same old. 

If we can change our wardrobes so easily, what makes change so difficult in other aspects of our lives?  Is it that we fear change or we fear being changed?

Bill Hamilton, a famed Hawaiian surfer, said, “Life to me is a constant movement, an ever-changing, swirling mass of variables interconnecting with each other to create a whole, if you’re willing to compare them to riding a wave, then comprehension of the totalness here and now is at least partially attained.”

No matter whether we fear change or we fear being changed.  Simply put, we are change.

Trackback URI |