The Nature of Change
And the realms unveiled and brought forward <3
Hello, Good Morning. Happy Friday and Happy September. I hope the start of your month has been restful and inspiring, if even in moments found here and there, hidden within the hours of each new day.
I asked someone very dear to me what I should write about today, and he said, ‘how about something on the nature of change. How we’re constantly enveloped in it, and that it’s not necessarily something to be afraid of. And how the fear of a “bad” change can get us to reach inside ourselves to draw strength we may not even know we had.’
The nature of change has been a strong theme for us lately, as many changes have taken form and continue to unfold around us and within us. There are changes we are excited and happy about, changes we’ve wanted and dreamed of for so long, changes that are difficult, unjust, and out of our control, and the anticipation of possible changes that may or may not occur in the near or distant future.
When I looked up synonyms of ‘change’ as a noun, I found these words: development, revolution, transformation, innovation, shift. The simple definition of change is: ‘something made different; alteration.’
This definition is vague on purpose, as one change in itself is highly diverse in its own story. A change can be a loss, an ending, an addition, a beginning, a combination of any or all of these. It isn’t black and white in its’ meaning, it’s more nuanced than that. A change can be joyful and/or sad - scary, exciting, terrifying, relaxing - one change can contain a full spectrum of emotions and experiences. A change can be bright and airy, a change can represent destruction and despair. It’s an interesting word and concept, how it can mean just about anything, and the meaning van vary from person to person, story to story, moment to moment.
Think about a recent change from your life, or a change that might be on the way. It can be anything - big or small, happy or sad. Then think about the varied narratives within that very change, the many emotions and thoughts tied to it. Think about the ripple of other changes that occur(red) from that single change.
In thinking about this recent or upcoming change in your life, read the quotes and listen to the songs below. See if there is one or any that resonate with your own situation. If you like, follow this path of reflection - in journaling, free writing, discussion, painting, drawing, writing a song, thinking about the next steps ahead.
Maybe a recent change has alleviated stress, opened your heart, shifted your perspective on life. Maybe a recent change has been painful and heavy, has challenged you in new ways, has brought you to your knees, has helped you to be more vulnerable, has shown you a greater courage than you ever realized was always there within you. Maybe there is a looming anticipatory change guided by injustice or greed, some dark force of the world which brings unfathomable disappointment, intense grief, or ignites a fire of new action within you. Maybe a recent change was put into motion fully by you, standing true on your path, in your purpose, feeling yourself at the crossroads of a new beginning.
Change has many meanings, and those meanings are continuously changing as we change. It sounds redundant and wacky, and that’s because as we know, it’s all highly complex, just as we are, just as life is. The external factors and the shifting forces within us. Sometimes we plan ahead for our changes, following a timeline which unfolds as expected, and sometimes we have to act fast and improvise.
I’m thinking about my own changes. Beautiful new additions to my life which bring immense joy are also pushing me to let go of old thinking, and those moments of personal growth can be uncomfortable and scary. I want to be evolving always, so I welcome these scary moments, sitting with the pain and discomfort, learning from the new information, even when it’s difficult. New evolution and decisions push us to find that courage and power within ourselves, as there is no turning back, there is only looking forward.
Another change which may or may not occur soon, is bigger than any or all of us and would cause waves of personal and community grief. It would also cause a great ripple effect of additional changes, daunting to imagine. As I wrote in a previous post:
“Individuals suffering in the deepest well of grief are usually unaware of the immense bravery they will have to manifest, and this resiliency is something of a magic power. The heart will seldom find salvation in a day. There is no fast track, no date to be promised. It is in fact, with compassionate care, that happiness flows in quietly like the tide does at night. And while it promises to flow back out again, with the tools of a skillful navigator, we can manage these shifts with hope, even during the greatest of storms.”
As we know, after the greatest storms there is often a beautiful sky. That is not always the case right away though - sometimes there are many more steps between dark storm and blue sky. Sometimes a great storm brings about great destruction, requiring the intensive work of mourning, grieving, healing, relief, and rebuilding.
Are there any metaphors for change that feel meaningful and resonate with you today? Chaos leading to transformation. Changes in music, within a song, within a performance. Modulations. Changes in weather, the seasons. Changes of the tide. Metamorphosis. Plants and nature. Shifting gears in a car. Clocks and daylight savings. Feathers and molting skin. Chameleons and camouflage. Lenses on a camera. Processes in a dark room. The process of painting or clay or any art form. Kaleidoscopes. Seeds, sprouts, and gardening. The sun and moon.
What about subtle and significant changes to taste and personality? The songs we listen to throughout life, the music we are open to. The books, movies, tv shows, the art we consume and the way we consume it. Listening to songs on the radio, on a record player, a CD stereo, a walkman, an iPod, streaming through the phone. Listening through car speakers on a long trip, on headphones with our eyes closed. The people we trust to influence our taste and open our minds to new sounds. Letting ourselves shift when we thought we were set in our ways, fixed to the songs and artists we always knew and loved, fixed to our comfort zones. And then changing our minds, changing our ways, evolving to new places, perhaps with the help of someone new. That’s a beautiful way of letting go, a beautiful kind of certitude.
Here are some quotes to inspire Change reflection:
“It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change.” - Miles Davis
“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” - Dalai Lama
“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” - Kakuzo Okakura
“Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.” - Frida Kahlo
“Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time. What we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” - Sydney J. Harris
“Growth and comfort do not coexist.”
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama
“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength un-defeatable.” - Helen Keller
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” - Albert Einstein
“If I am an advocate for anything, it is to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river.” - Anthony Bourdain
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” - Mother Teresa
“Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” - Walt Disney
“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” - Deepak Chopra
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” - Joseph Campbell
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.” - Herman Hesse
“No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don’t.” - Stephen King, The Stand
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates
“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” - Jimmy Dean
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” - Alan Watts
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”- Maya Angelou
“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” - Eckhart Tolle
“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.” - Hugh Prather
“There is nothing permanent except change.” - Heraclitus
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.” - C. S. Lewis
“Things do not change, we change.” - Henry David Thoreau
“There is nothing so stable as change.” - Bob Dylan
Here are some songs about change to listen to as we write and reflect. Do any of these lyrics and meanings resonate with you today?
I hope these scattered thoughts, quotes, and songs have been kind friends in a time of reflection, maybe offering a path inward to find some extra courage. As we know, everything we need is always there inside us. Sometimes we need someone or something to remind us, though it is always there for when we need it.
Sending you warmth and reminders of your own power and courage.
Looking forward as always to reading any thoughts and reflections you would like to share in the comments.
Have a great weekend.
All the very best to you always.
Whatever the context, change is constant - whether we're aware or not. Your choice of quotes and music make this post something akin to a meditation on change. As an October child, autumn has always been an energetic, positive and thoughtful season for me. This year I'll turn 76 and the changes that are most noticeable ( the larger world aside for the moment) are associated with the physical aspects of aging. As a dancer for over 30 of those years, I put my body thru a lot. Now all the "itis"
conditions reside in every joint. Work still has to be done, though it has become harder to do the physical labor required to keep up our 7 acres. What used to take a day now has to be done in stages.
We adjust accordingly. Acceptance of reality is a workout due to my often-stubborn resistance to
change. But change comes, accepted or not. Every day I make a little headway when that realization dawns. Your post is a reaffirmation as well as a meditation. Thanks, Jesse.
I was watching a documentary about Fred Rogers last night, and at one point, he was sitting at a piano, talking about the concept of modulation in music, and how that helps him conceptualize dealing with change in life--in modulation, some notes are the same, and some are different. I find that comforting.
I have been thinking about change lately, having turned fifty earlier this year. I find myself really wanting to be clear about what I want and what I do not want; the word/concept "discernment" has been an important one. It's interesting to see how my own tastes and desires have changed, and it's important for me to stop and ask myself if I'm doing something because it actually appeals now, or if it's something that I used to do but no longer want to. An example: I love music, and I used to love going to big arena shows. I still love music (and have begun making my own!), but now I only want to go to concerts that are small enough for me to see the guitar players' hands (and not on a screen). To not have the joy of the concert wrecked by the stress of traffic afterward.