Musings on Self-Transformation

I’ve always loved a good breakthrough story. A phoenix rising from the ashes type tale. A story of transformation and self-discovery. I know that this is an ironic statement because no human in their right mind would willingly ask for something in life to break them down to the point that they have two choices: either crumble or persevere. But there’s something attractive and admirable about someone’s courage to face an obstacle head on and make it to the other side. To turn something that, on the outside,  seems damning into something completely new.

A story of transformation and self-discovery is precisely what attracted me renowned vocalist, singer, and songwriter Adele’s fourth studio album “30.” “30” captured a complicated journey of facing the destruction of one’s hopes, fantasies, and familiar reality. It illustrated the process of transformation: an experience that offers the choice of transformation, the acceptance or denial of the offer, the pivotal experience of facing oneself, the breaking away of the old fragments of oneself, and, finally, the introduction of a new entity. 

When I initially reviewed “30,” I skimmed over this underlying theme. I only paid attention to the obvious themes expected of the “Someone Like You” singer: love and heartbreak. “Strangers By Nature” can be viewed as “the offer,” where Adele has the choice to face her deteriorating relationship with her then-husband. “Strangers by nature,” Adele hauntingly sings after revealing that she’ll “be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart.” To me, the first song encompasses “the acceptance” of the transforming experience a divorce incentivizes.

Eventually, we move from the first stages of transformation to the breaking away of the old fragments of self. “I’m as lost now as I was back then / … It’s about time I face myself/ All I do is bleed into someone else”). And then to the introduction of a new entity as heard in “Love Is A Game,” where Adele has narratively made it to the other side, accepting the triumph and defeats of love while choosing to remain hopeful despite experiencing a life-changing defeat (“Love is a game for fools to play…/ Oh you know, I’d do it all again.”).

When faced with a chance to transform ourselves, will we choose to undergo the process or will we shy away from it? Our current relationship with change can give us a sense for what we would do. If change is constantly seen as an enemy, transformation will appear as a unattractive and pointless experience; on the other hand, if change is seen as an opportunity to grow and evolve, transformation will appear as a rewarding opportunity to usher in a new version of oneself. I try to nurture a healthy relationship with change since it’s inevitable and will be a constant companion on this journey called life. It’s not always easy, but I know that when faced with a situation that calls for the old version of myself to burn away to make room for the rising of a better, refined version, I’ll be ready for it, knowing that the rewards of transformation are significantly more rewarding than staying the same.

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