Rising out of the ashes

The phoenix – a mythical bird found in the stories of a number of countries, has a lifespan of up to a thousand years.  Once this period has passed it sits in its nest, self-combusts, and is destroyed; the resultant ashes evidence the bird’s past immediate existence.  Out of these ashes a new bird is birthed.  What strikes me about this process is that the replacement bird is just that. Nothing changes, the story remains the same - life, self-destruction, death, rebirth ...; a repeating cycle which the bird is destined to replicate no matter what.

Unlike the mythical phoenix when we rise up from the ashes of the fires of anger, frustration, hurt, disappointment, heartache and/or pain, we are presented with an opportunity to make a choice.  That is to change how we will live our future; how we will respond to life’s challenges; how we will change what we don’t like about our habits; how we will connect with others.   We don’t have to repeat the mistakes, bad decisions and wrong turns already practiced. We can transform the life we had into the life we want. We, unlike the phoenix, have the capacity to decide to and make change.