The One Constant
I wrote this in an email the other day and after reading it again in the reply something about it struck me. I didn’t mean for it to be a deep philosophical statement, but it sort of is. (I’m blaming the lack of caffeine).
“The one constant in life is change”
I realized in reading it back that not only is change the one constant, it’s the thing we can always hold on to. No matter what may be going on in my life today, tomorrow will be different. It’ll be different in many ways, most of them subtle, but not all, and always in surprising ways. Tomorrow, I’ll go to work, but I won’t do the same things I did today, I will run into someone different than I did today, I’ll read news that’s different from today’s news, etc.
Those are just the small changes that will literally take place without any effort on my part. I didn’t even mention the changes I try to make in my life. Those tend to take more time, but they do change little by little. When I make it a goal to learn something new, I don’t wake up the next day changed, but I learn a little bit more as I go along. I change, and my life changes every so slightly on an ongoing basis and I’m fascinated to see how it develops. Maybe that’s my natural curiosity, but it’s one of the things that keeps me going through difficult times. The hope that as bad as today may have been, tomorrow will be different in some way.
On the other side of that though, are all the things we try to keep from changing. As I’ve already said, life is all about changes, you can’t stop time and keep things the same. Trying to do so will just lead to frustration and, quite possibly, depression. Embrace the fact that your life will change, and the people around you will change. Enjoy watching them grow in front of your eyes, and give them the freedom to pursue their own paths in life. Change isn’t easy, and taking on the challenge to initiate change can be quite daunting, but I do believe change is one of life’s most positive traits.
Yep, it’s like expecting an ocean to remain still. It keeps moving, flowing, re-creating itself. As usual, you get me thinking!
Change. It used to scare me so much. Now I embrace it. Now I know change is likely to bring good into my life. As you say, it takes so much effort and energy trying to fight change and we can’t stop it anyway. Nice post.
Much as change is good when you embrace it, I still have to get good at effecting it myself through learning new skills, rather than just having it happen without any control. The next new job will have to be a proper career move, but I’m optimistic about it which is a big difference from the last times.
OMG! I just found you and major props. Change is hard yet the dream, an essential in life and to move away from the pain.
From one survivor to another,
Cheers!