An Hour Away, There’s an Ocean...
We only see the door closing, or how we resist change without knowing what beauty might be waiting ahead
I’m watching my son…
He’s playing at the playground. He’s immersed. Present. Happy. Completely in the moment.
I tell him that we’ll be leaving in ten minutes because we have other plans, and time at the playground is almost up.
And just like that, everything changes.
He starts to cry. Resists. Bargains. Asks to stay.
He doesn’t know that I’ve planned something even more exciting, that this playground stop was just a spontaneous detour.
He wants to stay right where he is for as long as possible. From his level, he can’t imagine that what’s next isn’t the end—that what’s next might be even better, more fun, more meaningful. From where he stands, he has no way of knowing that change can be a gift and that life—through his mom—has something bigger in store.
But I know. I see it. I try to tell him. He doesn’t hear me. He just wants to stay where it feels good right now.
And as I watch him, I suddenly realize: We, adults, do the exact same thing.
The Universe leads us in its own way. Like a loving parent, it gently says: it’s time to go, pack up your toys—there’s something new, something wonderful ahead.
But not knowing the plan, we resist. We only see the door closing—the ending. We start pushing back, crying, bargaining, clinging, panicking, and running.
We hold on to what’s familiar, what feels safe—the little puddle in our backyard—never imagining that just “an hour’s drive away,” there’s an ocean.
We fear change, forgetting that it often leads us toward something better—even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.
We see only the closing door, unaware that a gate to a new world has already opened somewhere.
We can’t see the whole route. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
And maybe the only thing we need… is a little trust.
In life. In its plan. In what’s to come.
What a wonderful observation and parallel Natasha. So many people would see that in their child but never relate it to their own adult circumstances.