Change
Everything must either change or die, including me. It seems like most people resist and fear change; perhaps I do more than others. I seem to remember
the "good old days" with fond nostalgia, when life was simpler and I was younger. So many of my friends and dreams had not yet died; so many disappointments
had not yet made me feel old and tired. Each day I try to remember myself, and to reconstruct who (I think) I am. But my memory is imperfect and besides,
I have learned so much in just one day! If I try to fight the swirling parade of change, both inside and outside me, and don't change, I will get confused
and upset. But if I hold my head up and enjoy going along for the ride, then I adapt to the unexpected curve and get back in the swing of things. I am not
the same man I was five minutes ago, let alone five years ago. Just as I can never step into the same river twice, for I have changed (and so has the river),
likewise my experience has been changing from moment to moment, and my attitude about myself and the world is born anew every day. All of creation changes. It
grows and evolves. The changing world affects me in subtle ways that are hard to grasp. It is said that "we recreate ourselves every day, but due to lack
of imagination, we recreate ourselves in the image of who we were yesterday!" Yet LIFE IS CHANGE, and my only choice is whether or not I accept it and surrender
to it. There's a part of me that yearns for stability, for reassurance, for PREDICTABILITY in my life, and that part of me dreads having to adapt to new rules
and worries that seem to change on a daily basis. It is hard for me to remember, that when I'm not in ACCEPTANCE I'm in DENIAL. Change is inevitable. Yet when
I am spiritually centered and full of life, I know it is desirable, because it sweeps away the debris and lets me be excited about my life, to see everything
through new eyes. When I'm spiritually centered in the light I feel ageless! I don't have to 'like' change; but I might as well, because it's not going to stop
to please me! People are always saying that "human nature never changes." But over just a few generations, even this society has changed, in ways we never
thought possible. Where a century ago it was considered normal to mistrust or exploit people of other races, ages, sexes or classes, animals and even
nature herself, today such attitudes have become unacceptable to most people. Things we thought were "in the blood" and true for all time have been washed
away, leaving a new world with new problems and new hopes. When I was born in 1957, the first Frisbee was invented; today we have 2 inch color TV's; and
tomorrow who knows? While the world is changing we think the world is in upheaval, and fear it may end at any moment! After we survive the change, we wonder
what all the fuss was about, and start to worry about the next crisis. When I accept change and become willing to change myself, I start to be in tune with
the times. My new friendships and my life must grow and change or wither and turn to stone. Those I know can change too; if I don't let them I hold them back.
When my own spiritual center is stable, calm, loving, accepting, honest, patient and tolerant then all of the outer changes I must undergo will become as natural
as the change from night to day or winter to spring. As long as I open my mind and heart to the God of my understanding, to others and myself, then my
understanding will continue to grow while the God that gave it and sustains it loves me just the same. Ed B Valley Hope - Atchison
By: Ed B.