Change (part 1 of 5)

Today I’m starting my first 5 part series on change.  This past week has been an interesting one in the things I’ve seen and read, and I figured I’d try out this daily post thing to see what it’s all about.  Hope you enjoy reading, and please discuss in the comments if you’d like.

Albert Einstein has been paraphrased saying a great number of things, but there is one paraphrase that always sticks out in my mind; “The only constant in this universe is change.”  This applies to so many different aspects of our lives that it amazes me how resistant we are to making changes or even allowing changes to take place.  We are afraid of the unknown and sometimes unwilling to take the risk associated with change.  And this is true in all facets of our lives.

Hypothetically –  How resistant to a job change would you be at this stage in your life?  What about your love life? What about your church? What about your political party?  How about your opinions of others?  We often view change as a bad thing…unless that change is going to result in more money, less work, or a combination of the two.  What we don’t realize is that all change is necessary.  The short-term effect might not be that great, but the long-term rewards should be.

Think about this…what if you took one part of your life and changed your opinion?  All things constant, you woke up one morning and decided that you were no longer a Baptist and you went to a Methodist Church.   Not that big of a change right? What if you woke up one morning and decided you were no longer a republican and you are now a democrat?  Still not that big of a change, right?

These are very small changes to make in your life, but for some reason they are the very core elements of how some people describe themselves.  However, these are macro views of us as individuals.  To access the real root of change you have to know why they are these things.  Why are you a Baptist? Why are you republican?  The very simple answer is that the fundamental ideals of church, religion, politics, government, life, love, relationships, etc all begin as a child.  Your experiences as a child shaped you and molded you into the person that you are today.  Additionally your associations as you matured molded your opinions, shaped your perceptions of the world around you, and created these views that are seemingly unchangeable.

I say ‘seemingly unchangeable’ because nothing in your life is a constant.  Your ideas, your thoughts, your job, your car, your house, your finances, and basically everything else in your life is a variable.  Your possessions can be taken.  Your job and love life can be lost.  Your religion can be outlawed and persecuted.  But we hold on to these ideas and these values as if nothing can happen to them, as if no one can take them away, and as if we are afraid of change taking them all away.  But what are we so afraid of?

Over the remainder of the week I will be writing on change. I will look at history, religion, politics, personal, and finally summarize.  Please take time to comment if you’d like.  And as always, thanks for reading.