Leopards and their spots!

I think in addition to being on a journey of change the last 7 years I have been faced with the changes in others, and whether I could trust that change.....and wondering if I really believe that a leopard can change their spots so to speak....now do I believe that people can change their lives....absolutely....I am living proof, and so are the lives of the clients I work with.....people can change.....that I believe.....but not if they lack a willingness to change....and not if they have inherent deep and dark places, and patterns that keep them stuck....and I used to believe all people could change.....I really did.....but I am challenging that some in myself now.....based on some things I have experienced.....and now I am not as sure that change is for everyone....and the sad part is that most adults.....by the time they are adults....should change some lol:) Carrying stuff into their adulthood, likely from childhood, that is not serving them well.....or needing to grow and evolve.......and yet, I think some people might talk a good game.....but not quite change the things within them that keep them stuck....and not getting the thing that they desire.......self sabotage is real.....that comes hardwired in some people......and I believe we should trust that a person can change and give them the room to prove that....I really do....it is why I gave my marriage some more room to live beyond my learning of his affair......believing that people need second chances and that redemption is possible......and I still do, but my belief has shifted some in terms of deep patterns in people....those are harder to change and even harder to keep masked forever....eventually they show themselves.....and end up causing challenges......I think it is common for people to be so jaded, and to no longer believe in the strength of the leopard......or having been burned enough to no longer believe.......and also I think sometimes folks get mislead into believing that a certain payoff will be enough to change a person....like love, and a relationship, or their family, or...........but often times it isn't. The desire to change, like so much of the good stuff in this life, needs to come from within......a desire in your soul, for a different outcome.....a new way......and the truth is I have been waging change within myself quietly in the background of my life at the moment......for a couple of months now.......wrestling with some of my old stuff versus the new......strong arming myself if you will;-) and fighting tooth and nail to not fall into old habits that lead to old outcomes......knowing deeply that if I want a different result, I need to behave in a new way period.......even if it is making me uncomfortable......I need to finally break free of the spots that bind me some.....things that run so deep, in the depths of my veins, and soul, dramatic some, but true;-) I can vouch for the depth of these spaces.....and some days it feels like telling a toddler not to touch the hot thing.....and leading them away, and turning your back, and seeing them wander over for another touch, and doing it over and over.....and I suppose as I type that, that THAT is what changing our spots requires....the tenacity and grit to keep at it, even when it is hard, or uncomfortable, or sad, or disappointing, or all of the above at once.....if you want a different outcome, different action is required that is truth.....so I am committed to changing some lingering spots that really need to be changed.....knowing that the effort is worth it to find the life I seek..........the one I walked through flames to find:) And gosh I really do......I really really do......Amen:)