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How do I handle sudden change without feeling overwhelmed?
A childhood moment that changed how I see change
Question for you. Are there any surfers out there? Or maybe a better question is, has anyone ever tried to surf?
When I was a little boy in the late seventies, my older brother Dave used to go scuba diving in Huntington Beach. One day I went with him. It was cold and cloudy, so I stayed wrapped in a towel on the sand while they were in the water.
Eventually they came out, the sun came up, and it was my turn to play. The ocean was calm. Not many waves. I was standing in shallow water getting ready to come out when I turned to look at my brother. We made eye contact, and suddenly his eyes got wide.
Before I could react, a rogue wave hit me.
It knocked me down, dragged my face through the sand, and pulled me back toward the ocean. I tried to stand up but I could not. I could not get my footing. I could not breathe. I felt completely helpless.
Then I felt two arms lift me up. I was back on my feet. Sand all over my face. My brother helped me out of the water.
I took a break. Then I went right back in.
To this day, the ocean is still one of my favorite places.
Why sudden change feels like a rogue wave
Sometimes life is like that.
Out of nowhere, something hits you. A job change. A diagnosis. An unexpected bill. A shift in how things are done. You did not see it coming, and suddenly you feel like you have been knocked off your feet.
We have all experienced this. The pandemic. The rise of AI. Cultural shifts that change how we live and work.
It feels like being pulled under. Like you cannot get your footing.
Common reactions to unexpected change
When that happens, most of us react.
We tense up. We panic. We try to control what is happening. We try to control the story afterward.
We say things like, look at what just happened to me. We replay the moment. We talk about it. We build a story around it.
We might look for something to blame. The situation. Other people. The conditions. Technology. The world.
Sometimes we decide it is safer to get out of the water entirely.
Or we try to go back to how things used to be. We get stuck in the past while life in front of us has already changed.
That inner resistance starts to shape our experience. It shows up as frustration, blame, resentment, or the need to control.
And then that becomes the lens through which we live.
Why resistance makes change harder
There is something important to see here.
The wave is not the problem.
Our resistance to what is happening creates the struggle.
The more we resist, the more we feel tossed around.
Think about that moment in the water. The more I fought to stand up, the more unstable I felt. The more I tried to control what was happening, the more overwhelmed I became.
In life, it works the same way.
Resistance tightens the experience. It narrows our awareness. It pulls us into reaction.
A different perspective on change
When I look back at that experience as a child, I see something different.
I got knocked over. Then I stood up. Then I went back in.
There was not a long story about it. There was awareness. There was learning. There was presence.
That perspective shows us something important.
The invitation is not to stop the wave. Waves happen.
The invitation is to discover who we are in the midst of the wave.
How to move from reaction to spiritual awareness
In Unity, we teach that life is not happening to us. Life is expressing through us.
That changes the question.
Instead of asking how do I stop this, we begin to ask, how am I going to show up in this?
You may not control what is happening around you, but you can choose the consciousness you bring to it.
This is the shift from reacting to change to responding from spiritual awareness.
From panic to presence.
What does empowerment really mean during change
When we talk about empowerment, it is not about controlling the wave.
It is about learning how to ride it.
It is recognizing that there is a Presence within you that is not thrown around by circumstances.
It is choosing to align with that Presence and allow it to express through you.
A practical spiritual approach to navigating change
Here is a simple way to practice this in real time. You can remember it with the word RIDE.
Recognize what is happening
Notice the wave.
Name the experience without adding a story.
This is change. This is uncertainty. This is fear.
When you name it clearly, you interrupt the automatic reaction.
Interrupt the reaction
Pause.
Take a few slow breaths. Feel your body. Relax your shoulders.
This helps you move out of reaction and into presence.
Drop into spiritual truth
Shift your awareness inward.
You are one with the Presence of life, love, and wisdom.
There is strength within you that is greater than the situation in front of you.
Return to that awareness.
Engage with life from alignment
Now ask a different question.
What is mine to do right now?
Not how do I fix everything.
What is the next step that is mine to take from clarity, from love, from wisdom?
This keeps you grounded and responsive instead of overwhelmed.
Living with love, wisdom, and presence in times of change
There are moments when we need to stand in our truth.
When we do that with peace, kindness, and compassion, we know we are aligned.
If we find ourselves in anger, blame, or control, that is a signal to return to awareness.
Recognize the pattern. Pause. Return to truth. Choose again.
This is how we move with life instead of being thrown by it.
Riding the wave of life
There is something powerful about being in the water and feeling the energy of the wave.
You can be tossed by it.
Or you can learn to move with it.
Life is moving. Change is happening.
The more present we are, the more we can live and move within it with awareness.
Affirmation for navigating change
Centered in the Presence within me,
I ride the wave of life with faith, wisdom, and love.
And so it is.
With Rev. John Riley and music by Deborah Winters and Russell Norman on piano.
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