It has always been my rule of thumb that when you move to a new home, you know you’ve settled in when you can find the bathroom light switch at 3am without thinking. Familiar routines, familiar places, familiar faces — all these anchor us as we move through the mundane moments of our days, and face both ordinary and extraordinary life challenges. To rely on anchors is not to be stuck in a rut. To rely on anchors is to have in place the framework around which we can face our days with courage and confidence.
When these anchors are gone, it takes additional intellectual and emotional energy to move through life until new anchors can be established. We now have to think about things that were automatic before. We now have to consciously seek out the resources and support we knew simply existed before. Changes aren’t inherently bad — and ideally the changes result in something that is excitingly new. But the process of changing — no matter how exciting — can be exhausting.
One of the ways we get our heads around change is to become acutely aware of what remains the same — of what we can count on. Sometimes when we face change we are afraid that everything will be different and nothing will be recognizable. Yet no matter how radical the change, if we take a deep breath and pause to look around us, we see so much that is familiar. And once we recognize the familiar, we can approach the changes with both a healthy sadness at what is gone, and a curious excitement about new possibilities.
Over these next few weeks, we at Temple Beth El will experience the biggest changes of a transition that has, in reality, been in progress for some time. There will be sadness in not seeing some familiar faces and hearing familiar voices. But pause for a moment…and look around. Look at the friends sitting with you at worship services or committee meetings or educational programs. Look at the faces of longtime staff who will be carrying on right through all the transitions. Look through the windows behind the Sanctuary ark at the beautiful summer landscape. Look at the familiar words of the prayerbook and listen to the familiar melodies. Look at the many plaques that honor those upon whom our community was built and listen to the voices of those who continue to lead Temple Beth El and continue to make it a warm and vibrant home for us all. Look, listen…and imagine what a joy and privilege it will be for us to share who we are as a community with the new people we will soon call family.
