Change Revisited
I met an old friend and we began to discuss mutual acquaintances and all the changes that have happened since we last met. I found myself saying that change will happen whatever we do and if we don't at least get out of its way it will run over us. However, I realized that I wasn't sure I believed my own words. I realized that despite all my efforts I still resist change, at least on an emotional level. Rationally, I acknowledge that change is constant and inevitable but on an emotional level I still wish things would stay the same.
I often think about my
grandmother.
She grew up at a time before many things we take for granted. When she was
growing up, there were no cars, no planes, no antibiotics, no radio, no
television, no computers. Also, because of her circumstances, when she was
growing up there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no heating, no air
conditioning, no ready-made clothing. Living to age 90, she saw the arrival of
all these things. Yet children today will see more changes in their lives than
my grandmother saw. It's amazing but I can predict it with absolute certainty
because the pace of change continually increases.
Maybe that's why I resist change. I can deal with change but I have a hard time dealing with an accelerating pace of change. Or maybe it's because as we age we all resist change. Or, perhaps, I see too many changes that aren't good for me or for anybody else. As I've said before, I don't want to be one of those old people who thinks everything is worse than it was in the past but when I compare my youth to now in the areas of civility, courtesy, kindness and other personal traits I find important things have worsened.
Well, it doesn't matter whether I resist or not. Change will happen, for better or worse. All we can do is accept it, try to cope with it, try to do the best we can in the face of change. As with everything in our lives, we need to accept inevitability and move forward with the best of thoughts for the future.
10-2-06
2006 Archives 2005 Archives 2004 Archives 2003 Archives 2002 Archives 2001 Archives