There is a tipping point to change which feels very much like grief on one side, and very much like joy on the other. If you offer a young child one little dime in exchange for their precious stash of seven pennies, they will likely cry foul - they simply cannot imagine that one small little coin could be more valuable than their many pennies. In order to take hold of the joy which waits ahead of us, we must let go of everything we currently hold dear, and that can be very difficult to do. Even when we know it would be good for us to do so.

This process of releasing usually begins by letting go of things. We come to a point of understanding that there's nothing wrong with things, but in our hearts, we know our things are of no real importance. It is all only stuff. Stuff is wonderful as it is helpful and useful, but when it is not helpful or useful, it is only dead weight cluttering our lives.

On some very deep level we know that really, the only truly important focal point is God, so we make grand intentions for ourselves. Get rid of all of the old magazines! Stop watching television! Lose 50 pounds! Stop procrastinating! Never get angry again! We try, we do our best, we fall down and give up and get back up and start over and fall down and for a long, long time it seems that we don't make much progress. It seems like we make the same intentions over and over, and at some point we realize that the best thing to give up might be fighting our own humanity. Perhaps it would be alright to simply accept that we are who we are. Whole, complete, perfect in our imperfection. Yes, it is good to let go of the unimportant things, yes, it is good to give up unhealthy habits and to watch less television. And... it is good to stop beating ourselves up.

Before we can fully release anything, we must release the belief that it is important. We must outgrow the belief that our things, our habits, or our activities are the true indicator of What we are. We aren't ever called to give up anything before we are ready. We are blessed to live abundant, prosperous lives, and at some point we realize that acquisition is not the point of abundance. Once we really understand this, the giving up of things is not painful, it is freeing. We feel more open, more spacious with each clear space in our life. There is a genuine feeling of relief with each "thing" that is released. We breathe more fully. We feel lighter. This release, which would once have felt like a loss, now feels like joy.

So today-whatever it is you think you need to change about yourself, know that your success is assured. In human time, it may seem that yet again you've fallen far below your expectations. But the Christ in you is eternal. From the perspective of the Christ within you, there is no time or space, and you are absolutely perfect right now, just as you are. Go find a mirror and smile at yourself. You are a unique, necessary, unrepeatable, irreplaceable expression of God. How could there possibly be anything wrong with that?