Ten sweaty, exhausted little girls crowded in the narrow shade of our sports tent after a tight 0-1 loss in the August heat. They had run their legs into the ground and out-played a kick-and-run team whose strategy revolved around brute force. I told them I was proud of them, because I was, and then we talked about the game. For our first game together and the first of the season, the girls played really well. They remembered team shape, change of direction, passing to feet, and how to defend. We also had some things to work on, and I touched on some of those in this talk too. When I finished telling them what I saw in the game, I had them quickly go around and say what they had learned today. Each of them had something. Talking on the field, getting open for passes, waiting for the ref to okay their substitution, getting back to help, and others along those lines. As I listened to the girls, I got this overwhelming sense of amazement. Instantly these 8 and 9 year-olds were growing up. All that information that I wasn’t completely sure they were understanding, they had just learned to apply. Suddenly, these girls were soccer players.

My 11 month old niece showed me the same thing yesterday when she took her first wobbly steps straight into my arms. Suddenly, she can walk.  A 46 year old client did when she expressed that she is enjoying changing her eating habits and exercising every day, two things she said she would never do.  Suddenly, her values shifted. The change is so drastic, and though it must have been building up inside, it seems to happen instantly.

Change is logical, but somehow it always catches me off guard when I notice it, even in myself.  Things I didn’t know I could do or dream of doing, are now a part of my daily life.  Places I never thought I’d go, I’ve been and known intimately.  Suddenly, I am a race director, I coach a team of awesome kids, I help a meaningful charity, I start a business.   Suddenly, they want my opinion,  he wants to kiss me, and she depends on me.   Suddenly, I’m changed.

Seeing these changes, we can have all kinds of reactions.  We can be in awe or in disbelief. We can be happy or sad. We can be scared or bold.  My new goal is to recognize these changes in myself and in others, and to be grateful for them.  They are our everyday inspiration, because in them we can see the great capacity we all have to move forward in our lives.