Change

Want to write something… but about what?

Change… Things are changing around me. Or is it I who is changing such that I conceive there is this thing called “change” befalling around me, or the one assuming these presumptive everyday chores to be different from the way they were in the yesterdays, yesteryears? Has this thought ever crossed your mind? I remember vividly one of my favorite school teachers lecturing us once upon a time: “Change is the law of nature. Everything around you is changing. And only change is constant.” And that he had said merely when one of my fellow classmates had put forth his grudge that the syllabus for the board examination had changed that year. Never had I imagined then that he was teaching us even through his simple reply to the question.

Recently, I read somewhere that this abstract noun “Change” has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it might be ominous, as it tends to think that things might get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging, a new beacon of optimism, as it thinks that things might get better and there might be new opportunities. To those who are confident, it is inspiring because there is this challenge to make things better – a new stimulus for innovation, a cleft to let the juices of creativity ooze out. I do not know which category I belong to, but definitely not the first one; at least, that is what I would like to self-righteously self-impose upon myself.

As Baldwin puts it, change is the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix. For how long can you, as a human, not strive to get better with a new sun every morning on the horizon? It is a different thing that you may get a little left out than you were earlier, but you are not at the same coordinates you were yesterday. Humans have this congenital trait of spontaneously comparing things relatively with other things, matter, or person.  The set of elements that make up your universe do never stay the same. This randomness around you ultimately engulfs you – take it in a fearful way, or the hopeful way, or the inspiring way – it is all on you. And that intersection – the way you take change – decides how you are going to spend your stipulated time here on earth; perhaps, it also holds true on some other Planet XYZ if your abode lies therein. However, whatever way you take it, you are bound to change yourself. Assuming you are of the fearful type, you would not want things to change much, not want them to be very different from the surrounding you know. Therefore, to accommodate for the change that is occurring in your environment, you mould yourself in such a manner that the net difference between the universe yesterday and the universe today is not very vast. Alas, you just changed yourself in trying to synchronize yourself with the changing world. How, then, do you say, or can you justify, you fear change?

Now, now, my thoughts are changing again. Because they are a major component of my universe, they too are subject to change; how can I blame them for changing? Why am I writing these already-known statements? All the aforementioned scraps are known to all, irrespective of the fact that some accept it and some have never given a deep thought. If we look closely, we will find there is not much difference between the two categories. Those of the latter category are too busy molding themselves with the change, whatever way it might be. They do not worry much, for they believe in living by any means. Those who accept it and are aware of this process are in the forefront to excel; they have this chance to make a change. Merely being aware is not enough; those thoughts need to be implemented. We have all heard that actions speak louder than words, haven’t we?

As I mentioned earlier, things keep changing constantly; so are my thoughts at this moment. It was something different I had on mind before I started keying in my thoughts. Now, they are completely on the other landscape. There’s so much entropy around me and in my thoughts. The consequence: my thoughts are constantly changing; and so am I, together with my thoughts. I am finding it difficult to take a re-take of my initial thoughts. But I will strive and call them back in. And I will do it. Everything is possible; the impossible only takes longer.