Alterations
Definition of alteration as defined by Miriam Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alteration
1: the act or process of altering something
2: the result of changing or altering something
The first thing that comes to mind for me, as I would think many people, is altering clothes. Wedding dresses need to be altered to fit. Tuxedos need to be taken in. Clothes that were once form fitting are now too big and need adjustment to fit. Pants that are too long (in the case of many of us vertically challenged folks) need to be hemmed so we don't walk on them. Unfortunately, clothes that shrink can't be altered because well, once they're too small, unless we regress to childhood sizes, they just aren't going to fit.
Alterations go to many things. Altering one's appearance by plastic surgery, coloring our hair, adding extensions, or wearing colored contacts . Altering your home to accommodate aging, special needs, making improvements. I could go on and on about examples there are so many. In general life is full of alterations, but life itself is subject to alterations as well.
We grow accustomed to a way of life. Our jobs are what we do day in and day out. We can do things in our sleep we've done them so long. I believe the fear of altering our lives can keep us stagnant. They keep us in that job that we have grown discontent with long ago. The fear of altering our relationship keeps us in complacency rather than being happy. The fear of failure keeps us from trying. Alteration. It typically isn't a scary word, but in the case of a change that is necessary it's terrifying. What if you have a favorite pair of pants that you have to bring in to get shortened to fit your height. What if they're cut too short? You can never wear them again. What if you redesign your house to make it a better fit and you hate the new design and now you just have to live with it? It might be a small risk, but it's a risk nonetheless. Now you take a major change in your life and you know that a change must happen, but to do so you risk loss. How about unwanted alterations? The alteration to your life that's happening isn't for you, but it's happening to you just the same. Those alterations I find the most difficult. My life is changing, but it's for the betterment of another person so you accept the changes, the modifications as they come and you hope that the pants don't come out to short, so to speak. Then there's the alterations that are just from life that aren't at all pleasant, but they open your eyes to the need for changes in your life. A dear friend getting up and getting ready for work suddenly passes. Your parents are in line of a direct hit from a category 4 hurricane, the worst in 87 years in their state. They survive and so does their house, but their community is decimated and you realize in the blink of an eye it could have been different if not for a band of Angels God sent to protect them. These alterations to the landscape of your life make you sit up and think, "what the hell am I waiting for? Why am I not doing things to change the landscape of my life BEFORE something catastrophic happens?" It's complacency. We just accept our lives as they are. They could be better, but they also COULD be worse and then we just settle.... until forced alterations happen. Then we realize what life is about and we have a decision to make. Return to complancy out of fear and hatred of change, or we could make a change. Many years ago I was debating on whether I should quit my job or not. I had been doing it for 15 years. Same agency same supervisor. I spoke to a friend of mine and she said the most powerful statement to me. "Leap and the net will appear". I have never forgotten those words though I have forgotten to leap many times. Maybe it's time to leap? Maybe I need to start doing things that will make me happy, not complacent. I can't change the alterations that life is sending my way, but I can make alterations to my life that will make things better right? Yes. Yes I can. Time is precious, life is short so it's time for me to leap and take those chances. So while I do that, can someone pass me some needle and thread? I have some alterations to make.