A friend of mine recently said. “I can count on change.” She had come up with this way to frame the variations of life because she had found that change had been stressful. Now she has a new perspective, that change is the thing she can count on. Not that her favorite shop would always carry her favorite thing, or even exist. Not that a relationship would stand the test of time. No, the thing she counts on is change.
I have been thinking about this ever since. I have my favorite people and things like most of us. I would prefer for things to be MY way. But whatever way that is, it’s simply a change of the way things were before that. As you may know, I am a frequent coffeeshop patron, many coffeeshops in our area rotate art and artists on a monthly basis. Sometimes I’m delighted by what I find, other times it’s not my preference. But either way I can count on there being something else in a month or so. This is happy or sad news dependent on my subjective opinion. I could pitch a fit and it’s still going to change, so I must either buy the art and take it home or allow for curiosity about what’s next lead.
Another friend of mine who grew up in Kansas City would say when I described a shop or restaurant by the street name, “oh, is that where such and such used to be?” I would laugh because of course when I was new to town, I didn’t know what was there before, only what was there now (and the street names). By the time I left over 9 years later, I could play that game too, either because the business had changed in my time there or I’d heard it called something else long enough.
That’s the nature of our existence. I can count on change.
If we fully embraced this truth we could be agile and able to respond. We can be present in the now, not in the what was. When we are truly plugged in to the truth of NOW then we can take action if we think it should be different. Arguing the facts doesn’t get us very far, change is always happening, in ways that we like and ways we don’t like.
The real question then comes down to, since we already know that we can count on change, “How can I be a catalyst for the change I want?” This is something with a lot of different answers depending on the goal. Of course prayer and meditation is always a wise first step. From there, you can be an agent of change is many ways.
Next is getting our own house in order, if we want more kindness in the world, we need to work to be kind. Then find others who are already working for the change you seek. Not a group that sits around and complains but is actually putting pen to paper, paint to wall, and trees in soil. You don’t have to invent the wheel, learn from those who have experience, then you can be much more efficient.
Then not only can you count on change, you can be the change!
