How to change

Slowly, but surely

Dear Reader,

Here’s what I continued to learn this year.

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear!”

―Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

1. Some years, your external situation remains more or less the same, but it’s a whole different story on the inside. Internally, there is massive change happening and you experience it as though you’re part of a The Lord of the Rings-type of drama, complete with rising action, allies, and murderous villains. This is how the last 7-8 years have been for me and how this year also turned out. However, it’s hard to succinctly, and believably, explain this kind of change when other people ask you how you’re doing. (😀)

2. Change, internal or external, can be thrust upon us, but a lot of the time, change is a slow, iterative process, with much backsliding and often, people give up. When we talk about going on a journey, we are talking about change.

3. I chose journeys as the topic for my Substack because I wanted to uproot my fears around change. I wanted to lay them out on a table, study them carefully, and learn as much about them as possible. I hoped that, once I gathered enough information and completely(!) excavated the surrounding pain, I I could chase my fears away forever. I’ve learned some of them may never fully go away and that I have to act anyway. I’m still getting used to this.

   I've done a lot of thinking about fear. For me the crucial question is not how to climb without fear-that's impossible- but how to deal with it when it creeps into your nerve endings.”
   ― Alex Honnold

4. I’ve learned it helps to have a plan and to know that sometimes, plans don’t work. That uncertainty and change are part of life. What I can hope to do is walk myself through the next change portal with a little more support and a little less terror. Which means I have to trust that I can be there for myself.

5. That the most ordinary moments and actions can be a gateway into the sacred. And, that myths, archetypes, images or symbols, and journeys hold great relevance even (especially) in contemporary times.

   Starting Jan 2025 (I meant to start this last month, but I have had a crazy busy few weeks, leading also to the Fri/Sun confusion!), my plan is to examine different archetypes through storytelling and to help us draw parallels to our contemporary lives. I’m starting with the archetype of the Innocent.

   Dear Reader, I’d love to hear what you’ve learned about change and journeying. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a great 2025!

   Best,

   Priya

   PS: Part 2 of the short story Baby is here.

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