Don’t Change
I was a neurotic for years.
Anxious, depressed, selfish
And everyone kept telling me to change.
And I resented them,
And agreed with them,
And wanted to change
But simply couldn’t, no matter how I tried.
What hurt the most was that, like the others,
my closest friend kept urging me to change,
So I felt powerless and trapped.
One day he said,
“Don’t change. I love you as you are.”
Those words were music to my ears.
“Don’t change. Don’t change. Don’t change.
I love you as you are.”
I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly I changed!
Now I know that I could n’t really change until I found someone to love me whether I changed or not.
Is that how you love me God?
From: The Song of the Bird, by Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ.