When Life Changes (And It Always Does)

3/10/26

“We are always in transition. If you can just relax with that, you’ll have no problem.”

— Lakota elder

A Zen Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor in New York and says,“Make me one with everything.”

The vendor hands him the hot dog and says, “That will be ten dollars.”

The Buddhist gives him a twenty. The vendor puts it in the drawer and closes it.

The Buddhist asks, “Where’s my change?”

The vendor replies, “Change must come from within.”

And speaking of change…

We just had daylight savings time and it always seems to throw my system off a bit… maybe you feel it too. Our rhythms shift, sleep patterns wobble, and suddenly the body and mind are asked to recalibrate.

It’s a small example of something we experience constantly: change.

We humans are creatures of habit. Often stubbornly so. We grow comfortable with the way things are and can become surprisingly rigid in our attachment to familiar routines. When life changes unexpectedly—whether through shifting schedules, relationships, health, or world events—it can stir resistance or anxiety. If you’re curious to explore this further, I wrote a piece about it here:
https://www.luminousliving.net/post/grappling-with-impermanence

And yet, there’s another truth about being human that is easy to forget.

We are remarkably adaptable.

Our brains are wired for it. Neuroscience calls this neuroplasticity—our ability to form new neural connections throughout life. We can learn new skills, change habits, recover from difficult experiences, and even reconsider the beliefs and assumptions that shape how we see the world.

We also have the capacity to adapt emotionally. By shifting perspective, by looking at our experiences through lenses of compassion, curiosity, and love—we begin to respond differently to life’s challenges.

Humans have always adapted. We change jobs, move to new places, form new communities, and support one another through transitions. We learn, share knowledge, and create structures that allow people to thrive together. In times that feel unpredictable, remembering our capacity to adapt, and reminding one another of it—can be deeply reassuring.

Getting On Board with Change

Five ways to strengthen adaptability:

1. Daily meditation.
Sitting quietly, even for a few minutes, reveals something profound: everything is always changing. Meditation helps us develop presence and reduces emotional reactivity. By observing thoughts without judgment, we loosen our grip on control and become more able to move with life’s transitions rather than resist them.

2. Try something new. Adaptability grows when we gently stretch beyond the familiar. Travel somewhere you’ve never been, take a different route to work, cook a new recipe, or learn a new skill. Small experiments expand our comfort zone.

3. Cultivate healthy ways of working with stress.
When stress accumulates, our ability to adapt narrows. Practices that help restore balance can make a tremendous difference. Here are a few reflections on rest, breath and renewal:


https://www.luminousliving.net/post/the-art-of-rest
https://www.luminousliving.net/post/loved-by-the-breath

https://www.luminousliving.net/post/the-changing-seasons-of-your-soul

4. Seek support:
Friends, loved ones, mentors, and therapists can help us navigate change with greater ease. We were never meant to figure everything out alone.

5. Practice acceptance. 
At the heart of adaptability lies a simple recognition: impermanence is part of life. The Serenity Prayer captures this beautifully...accepting what we cannot change while finding the courage to change what we can.

Change is not always comfortable. Sometimes it disrupts our carefully constructed routines or invites us into unfamiliar territory.

But it also opens doors.

And perhaps, as the Lakota elder reminds us, if we can learn to relax a little more into the truth that life is always in transition, we might discover that we are far more capable of moving with it than we once believed.