Change, change, change

True to social work fashion, I often think about change. The word is frequently "tossed around" in our society, daily conversations, and political efforts. But the true depth and breadth of the concept of change, is often overlooked. Social change is I believe, the pinnacle of social work values and purpose. The goal to improve the conditions and functioning of all members of our society is a driving force in the field of social work. Promoting and facilitating change related to the individual, relationships, and behaviors are the core of how social workers help their clients. Change is hard. It can be positive or negative, empowering or destructive, improvement or regression. But above all, it is inevitable. Change in our stages of life, families, personal beliefs and interests, relationships, and our immediate environment is certainly a part of life. Where there is life, there is change. And where there is death there is change.

Social workers frequently interact with individuals who have suffered trauma, grief, or loss. For example, children with a history of abuse, victims of domestic violence or substance abuse, veterans of war, individuals in the hospice setting, and caretakers of ill family members. Everyone directly or indirectly involved in these situations face the challenges of change. Helping professionals have established the "Stages of Change" and "Stages of Grief", which are helpful for many in their efforts to promote, cope, accept, and maintain change. But what do plants do? What can we learn from looking outside?

Advocates of Horticultural Therapy view gardens as a giant metaphor for multiple learning opportunities-- change included. The growth, transformation, and death that occur in plants are also experienced and sometimes understood by people. Planting, touching, nurturing, and watching plants grow is a tangible learning experience where a connection can be made between what is happening internally and externally. Consider the benefits of bringing a group of youth together who have suffered a loss of some kind in a garden setting. The shared experience of group members would provide the support and normalization of their experience, and an opportunity to process and learn from one another. Plant-related activities could be used to enhance their understanding of such difficult concepts related to change. Support groups for those in many types of "change processes" such as bereavement and addiction certainly exist, but none to my knowledge that incorporate the calming, restorative, and enhancing nature of plants. Being surrounded by life can counter the effects of death.

I came across a daily meditation by Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr. He writes for the Center for Action and Contemplation (www.cacradicalgrace.org). There are certainly spiritual implications, but more so those for understanding change within humans and the natural environment.

"Pain, as dramatically presented in the message of the cross, tells us about the high price of change.  Real change never comes easily.  It always feels like dying.  All we can really do is get out of the way by not being so defensive, so overprotective of our opinions, our nation, our religion, our gender.  These are just labels, and they are all passing away.

All we can really do is to stop stopping the natural process of growth, and trust a larger purpose.

In all of the natural world, everything is dying to become something else.  Why would we be any exception?  Just watch the solids, liquids, and vapors.  Just watch the animals giving their lives for another species.  Just watch the trees and plants creating soil itself by losing their leaves and dying for another season.  Just watch the sun that is in the process of dying so all things here can live.  It is the pattern of the universe, and we alone try to sit it out."