The Sweet Nectar of Change

Today is my youngest son’s 20th birthday! How did that happen?

I appreciate the connection we cultivate even though we live so far apart. Thank you Skype and FaceTime!

I’m taking some time away from my writing this week while I cherish the last few days with him before he returns to art school in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I want to share this post I wrote a few years ago when he was still living at home.

It’s about the unexpected sweetness of choosing to change.

Last week I gave my son a grocery list, some money and the keys to the car. I have become so busy with my work (writing, creating programs and having sessions with my clients) that I needed to make a change in order to keep the household running smoothly.

It took me awhile to give up the task of buying groceries. I love to cook and an important part of that is preparing for meals by roaming the aisles of our health food and grocery store finding just the right delights to keep my family nourished.

Asking my son for help with the shopping was one small step I was willing to take.

As you know I believe in the power of small steps. There is little or no resistance when you take a small step and lots of benefit both anticipated and unexpected.

Little did I know that the small step of asking my son to buy the groceries would lead to a lovely ritual reminding me that change can be immediately gratifying and even delicious.

You see, my son not only came home with everything that was on the list, he also bought a few things that caught his eye, one of which was a tub filled with honey comb.

After he put the groceries away, we got our spoons out and dug in. We shared a sensory experience as we chewed the beeswax releasing the sweet nectar of honey. He said it reminded him of a time when he was young when we had shared some honeycomb.

We decided to leave the tub of honeycomb on the counter and we created a daily ritual of sampling it. So throughout the week, along with the delight of savouring the extra time I had to write, I also had a reminder on my counter that taking a small step toward change brings deliciousness to my life.

What is one small step that you can take to move yourself forward?

Take it.

Then notice the unexpected sweetness that comes into your life.