FollowNo one knows what tomorrow will bring, but you can be fairly certain, it will not look like today. Somewhere it will be different, and if not tomorrow, then next week, or next month. You can count on it, bet money on it, be sure of it; change is coming, and it is coming fast.
We live in a fast-paced world, a world that is spinning, often out of control. People are constantly making a move, leaving home, their jobs, their city, their relationship, their country. Some are checking out, going off the ‘grid’, in a world that is in a constant state of flux. Technology, science, design, farming, music, it’s all progressing, moving ahead. We can no longer ignore what is going on globally, because we are so connected to the news of the day. Wired for witnessing, we cannot help but see and hear all the change that surrounds us. Even if we choose to unplug from the machine, so many others are tuned in, you cannot catch your breath before hearing the next and then the next piece of information, it’s unavoidable.
In many ways, it’s a good thing – disasters happen and before you can charge your phone, the aid relief ‘asks’ are coming and people are responding, faster than ever. We are all part of the human experience, we feel ‘their’ pain as ‘our’ pain and we want to be part of the solution. We are a mobile planet, moving fast and furious and before you know it, there is a remake, a new version of everything; your phone, your cereal, your computer, your favourite classic movie, the app you love, airport security, the time management system you use – new, improved, faster, and necessary. Families break away, people die, whole forests are destroyed, whole cities are brought to the ground, in minutes. It can all be a bit overwhelming.
One of the most important skills we can teach our children is to ‘ADAPT’, to learn the ability to go with the flow, a flow that is forever moving and constantly changing shape, to swim with the tide, not against it. It’s important to not become ‘attached’ to one way of thinking or doing, to what we know or believe, to what seems concrete and immovable today, to what seems certain. As soon as you think you have it figured out, it is different or gone; time does not stand still.
We can teach them to become less accustomed to the status quo and more accustomed to being flexible, to being open, to what comes next, to what we cannot control. We can look at change as a ‘possibility’ an opportunity, something to be at least curious about if not embraced. We can get ‘unstuck’ from how we ‘think it should be’ and open up to what it could be, what it might be? We can lean into change just a little and rather than see it as a positive or a negative, see it simply as change. We can stop trying to figure it out, to analyze it, judge it or overcome it. Rather than be rigid, we can be more fluid, able to change direction, to walk a slightly altered path, to see with more than our eyes, to trust our own compass when we don’t yet have the map.
If we learn to accept and even embrace change, perhaps we can fear less, step more lightly into the next place, take the next turn with less trepidation, feel more confident, less hesitant, worry less and welcome more. In his last days, my father in law told me “resistance is what makes things hard; acceptance paves a path to grace”. So why not try to ease in, get comfortable with the changes and pave the way, wade in and ride the wave, rather than swim upstream. We can wander along with it rather than be run over by it. It can be a gentle rolling hill instead of a mountain that needs scaling. Soften the edges around what feels hard about change and if you can’t open the door, at least crack open the window, at the very least, open the curtains.
The bottom line is whether you are ready or not, willing or not, able or not, prepared or not, change is coming. We so often fear what we don’t know or understand. Ask more questions, get more informed – understanding breeds wisdom. If what you don’t know or understand scares you, find out more. If you don’t like what you see, change the lens through which you view it. And in the end, once you have gathered what you know, if you are convinced that this change is not for you, if ultimately you cannot accept or adapt to the change coming your way, then make your own change, or as Gandhi said “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Rise up, turn the tide, champion your own revolution, transform what is coming, move it in another direction. Nothing remains static; our lives are alive, large and looming. Change or be changed. Discover what works for you and yours, and find a way to teach your children the truth – that nothing is certain except this PRESENT moment; everything else can and will change.
Photo credit: Andrew Chambers Photography (andrew.chambers@live.ca)
