The Invitation of Change

Change often gets a bad rap, but that doesn’t mean we can stop it. What if instead of resisting it, we invited it in?

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September...WOW...where did you come from?! Somehow, she snuck right in. The early morning temperatures and cool nights are reminding us that summer is slipping between our fingers no matter how tightly we try to grasp her.

But what a joy to shut off the A/C’s and thrust open the windows. I cherish my very early morning walks to the café alone, breathing in the beauty of mother earth and my little town as I head to brew some coffee.

Don’t worry, we still have glorious time to dine outside and enjoy our lush garden under the Catskill skies enveloped by fresh mountain air.

Change is certainly upon us. I feel it in my body. Deep exhale.

Soon the school buses will be driving by yet again. Back to work. Back to a new pace. And for many, change feels hard because we infuse it with resistance rather than embracing it.

Hey, we can’t avoid change even if we try, so why not instead, receive her invitation? Yes, change is an invitation.

I understand that some change feels unwelcomed at first and is accompanied by big feelings or maybe even disappointment. Sometimes it can make us feel out of control. I like to believe that change comes bearing gifts even when I don’t yet see them.

At the end of another busy season, we say ‘see you later’ to a lot of staff returning to school hoping to be together again next year. Life is shifting beneath many of our lives — new jobs, new homes, new relationships, new journeys — endings and beginnings. But this bittersweetness of the season also brings me my beloved week away at the ocean. It is my great reprieve at the end of a jampacked summer. My sore feet exhale in the beach sand — my toes stretch to the sun and sea.

It never gets old, this tradition of mine. I head to the beach just as she is being emptied out and the crowds head home. So many memories have been had for so many years and many are still waiting to be made. I spend half my time reading, swimming, napping...and laughing. Restoring. Exhaling into the embrace of change before me.

And while it’s hard to let summer go, this eases me into all that is ahead.

I’m curious if you have something like this in your life?

It is my gentle invitation to transition — to take its hand and trust. All is well. It’s OK to let go.

I’ve always viewed the café as an invitation — an invitation to make friends, an invitation to expand, an invitation to learn, an invitation to nurture self, an invitation to connect to people, the planet and our furry and feathered friends.

It is an invitation to soften, to lean in and listen...an invitation to become.

I know that as ‘vegans’ we stand in deep conviction of our beliefs, but we do not invite others into this conversation and connection by shaming, blaming, guilting or being rigid. We lead by example with our hearts, with our love, with our compassion.

Some of our most faithful local customers, who eat here several times a week all year long — aren’t even vegan. In fact, some visitors don’t realize they’re even in a ‘vegan’ restaurant until they’ve ordered. But you know what? They recognize how they feel body, mind and spirit when they eat our organic food. They begin to connect the dots between what is on their plate, where it is sourced and their own wellbeing.

One customer regularly tells me that this is her healthcare. She sees how this diet has transformed her relationship to her body and the world around her. This makes my heart smile.

Yes, it is about connection — an invitation to see ourselves as part of a collective, a whole.

As our café tagline reminds us, we put “love on every plate.”  And love outstretches arms and says, Come sit with me.

We have so much to learn from one another. We each bring so much wisdom, creativity and inspiration to this life and I believe this is meant to be shared, not contained.

Life is always shifting about us. We can dig in our heels and remain staunchly entrenched where we are or we can take a seat at her table and be curious about one another. What makes you tick? What makes you feel alive? What makes your heart dance? What makes you feel your very best?

Is there something you want to change?

Is there something it’s time to let go of?

Is there something you desire to allow in?

Don’t fear change. As a friend of mine recently wrote, “Don’t fear change. Fear not changing.”

I want us to meet in this space of knowing we are resilient, that we can sustain the tides of change together — and are so much better when we link arms.

Will you accept this invitation?       

“When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.”

 ~Yo-Yo Ma

—Lea Haas, Owner, The Garden Cafe Woodstock