My year-end reflection on change

Hi there, I’m Aarti, founder and lead counsellor at Incontact.

Some years slip by unnoticed, leaving us wondering where the time went. But 2024 wasn’t one of those years. It was a rollercoaster for me, filled with moments that challenged me, stretched me, and ultimately transformed me.

In the stillness of December, as I finally caught my breath and started to reflect, I had a beautiful epiphany. It was about change.

Change is often like a stubborn question mark hanging over our lives. We long for answers—What’s next? Why me? Where am I headed?—and yet, the answers rarely come when we demand them. Instead, they arrive in their own time, often quietly, when we least expect them.

This year, I learned to stop fighting the questions and to start holding them with patience. As John O’Donohue so beautifully writes in his poem, For the Time of Necessary Decision:

This is the essence of embracing change: learning to sit with the questions, embracing this lack of clarity, and being comfortable with the uncertainty. It’s about trusting that, just as the question has come, so too will the answer.

When we stop resisting the unknown

This year, life threw more questions at me than I knew how to handle. Bigger professional responsibilities came my way, and with them, new challenges. Living with an autoimmune condition meant navigating inconsistencies—changes in medication, and adjustments to my lifestyle—all requiring a level of resilience I wasn’t sure I had.

There were moments of frustration, even fear. Yet, amid these challenges, I found something unexpected: spiritual growth—a newfound harmony within myself.

What change taught me about myself

It’s amazing what happens as we become comfortable holding the questions without answers. Something shifts within us. We begin to facilitate the answers.

Change doesn’t just reshape our circumstances; it reshapes us. It teaches us patience and trust. It builds resilience in ways we never imagined. And, most importantly, it teaches us to let go of control and lean into faith—faith in being, in the universe, for some people faith in God, or simply in life itself.

While navigating life’s challenges, I gained a new perspective on myself.

Change has a way of uncovering strengths you didn’t know you had. It pushes you to see yourself differently and to grow in ways that would have been impossible without the discomfort of uncertainty.

I learned to treat change like an adventure, even when it felt anything but fun. I lost spontaneity in areas where I once felt secure, like my health and work. But I gained spontaneity in unexpected ways—like taking bold professional steps and finding joy in uncharted territory.

Change, as difficult as it can be, has the power to reveal your potential and deepen your understanding of who you are.

Embracing the true “you” and dancing with it

When you embrace the chaos with grace, you grow a deeper connection with self and learn to dance to life’s unpredictable rhythms.

There is a song called Tu Jhoom by Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal that echoes this sentiment.

Jhoom is Urdu for “sway”. Whenever I listen to this song, it reminds me that struggles aren’t obstacles. They are pathways to self-discovery. Change, too, has a way of stripping away what no longer serves us, leaving behind a clearer sense of who we are.

Here’s the version of this song with lyrics translated into English.

This year, I learned to jhoom—metaphorically and literally.

I learned to flow with life instead of resisting it. I discovered strengths I didn’t know I had, perspectives I didn’t know I needed, and resilience that continues to surprise me.

When you embrace change, you realize that the things you lose make space for something new. You stop fighting against the questions and start dancing with them, knowing that the answers will come in their own time.

My wish for you

As we step into 2025, my wish for you is to jhoom—to find joy in the journey, even when it’s uncertain or hard. Let the questions hang, and instead of fearing the unknown, embrace it. Sing through the silence. Dance through the discomfort.

Resilience isn’t about pushing through; it’s about flowing with life, trusting that every step is leading you somewhere meaningful. Change, as unsettling as it feels, is often the universe’s way of loosening your roots so you can grow.

So here’s to 2025—a year of change, courage, and joyful transformation. May you embrace the questions, cherish the lessons, and jhoom your way through it all.

Warm wishes,

Aarti