Change and Spirit: Growing Through What We Cannot Control

By Dr. Katie Eastman & Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

Change is one of life’s constants. Sometimes we choose it, like starting a new job or moving to a new city. Other times it chooses us, like illness, loss, or unexpected shifts we never asked for. Change can feel unsettling, even frightening, because it reminds us how little control we truly have. Yet spiritually, change is also an invitation: to grow, to realign, and to live with deeper awareness.

When change arrives, it often asks us to pause and reflect. What am I holding onto that no longer serves me? What am I being invited to release? What might emerge if I stop resisting and start listening? These questions are spiritual questions, and they open the doorway for growth.

Religious traditions mark change with rituals—baptisms, weddings, funerals, initiation ceremonies. These rituals remind us that change is sacred. But you don’t need a ritual to honor change. Spiritual growth can happen in the quiet moments: breathing through fear, choosing compassion in the middle of conflict, or finding gratitude even when the road ahead feels uncertain.

In The Change Guidebook, Elizabeth shares the stories of people who made conscious choices in times of transition. Instead of reacting impulsively, they paused to reflect and realign with their values. This pause became the difference between resisting change and growing through it. Their stories remind us that while we cannot always control change, we can control how we meet it—with fear, or with faith in growth.

Change also reshapes how we define success. In The Success Guidebook, Elizabeth highlights moments when people realized success was not about clinging to the familiar, but about listening to their spiritual voice. For one person, that meant leaving behind a safe but unfulfilling career to pursue a passion that brought meaning and joy. Choosing passion over fear was an act of spiritual courage—and a reminder that real success is living in alignment with our deepest values.

In The Peace Guidebook, we describe the practice of the peaceful pause—the intentional space you create in the middle of change to breathe, reflect, and choose peace instead of panic. This simple pause transforms change from something that happens to you into something you can grow through.

Spirituality does not erase the difficulty of change. But it gives us tools to meet it with courage, compassion, and creativity. Every change, chosen or unchosen, can become a stepping stone toward deeper meaning and greater connection.

✨ Reflection Prompt: Think of a change you’re experiencing right now. What would it look like to pause and listen for your spiritual voice in the middle of it?