Change

CHANGE

The bi-annual kerfuffle over the time change has me thinking about how I react to change.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus from the city of Ephesus (photo of the ruins at Ephesus) said that “no man ever steps in the same river twice”. In other words, our lives are characterized by constant change. So, if the nature of life and my reality is in constant flux, why does it so often make me uncomfortable?

Walkway in the ancient city of Ephesus

 Though the seasonal time change doesn’t bother me, why do so many get their knickers in a twist when March and October roll by and it comes to change the clocks? After all, it’s only taking one hour of sleep away. And let’s be honest, how many times do we accommodate bedtime pushed an hour one way or the other to watch a great television program or the Olympics? To have company over?

And how difficult is it to change clocks? Goodness sakes, these days, most devices change automatically. If not, how many time pieces are there in a typical house? Three or four? Surely changing them can’t take more than five minutes.

In the big scheme of things, what’s the big deal? Life throws other things our way that legitimately warrant the energy to complain.

But I admit, my resistance to change is increasing as I get older. Why?

Is it fear? Even die-hard adventurers must fear the unknown, don’t they? Maybe their anxiety about unpredictable outcomes and personal inadequacies is tempered by the experience and bravado I lack.

How much is due to a moral attachment to existing routines? I don’t think I often mutter to myself if it was good enough for someone else, then it’s good enough for me. And I definitely try to avoid saying “that’s not the way Mom used to cook it” when I go for dinner to my sister's house!  

Maybe it’s just because I don’t have as much energy to burn as I did as a younger pup. That’s legitimate, isn’t it, when there’s additional effort required to make a change and I drag my feet? Even when, for example, when someone suggests yet ANOTHER software programme to do something that trusty, reliable EXCEL can do. It’s not that I cannot learn something new. It’s that I do not WANT to devote the energy to it (even if the end result might be worth it.)

Change requiring an alteration to my routine, forcing me out of my comfort zone, leads to (sorry to admit) passive resistance, usually. Procrastination – often. And outright opposition and sabotage – who, me?

I am consciously trying to accept change more willingly and with a better attitude.

The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus is credited with saying that we cannot control what happens to us, only how we react to it. Though this is common sense, I need to remind myself of it when I’m being particularly obstinate.

Though my tendency is to have a knee-jerk reaction, I try to pause. Take a breath and a second look. Why am I objecting? Being contrary? Would I accept the change if it came from someone else? Or what if I came up with the idea?

I will change the perspective. Does it make it easier? Is the impact of the change going to rock my world (few are) or is it just a minor alteration?  And is the effort worth the result?

What if I revise my mental image? If I decide to stay away from desserts, it’s easy to sulk. But instead of deprivation, if I focus on the trousers I want to get back into, it’s easier to leave the table.

The bottom line is that I want to steer clear of transforming into a curmudgeonly old biddy, constantly locking horns and resisting change.

I have just come home from a two week cruise through the Panama Canal with my sister, Carol. This was my fourth time through this marvel of engineering and it was no less inspiring than it was in the early 2000's. The (stock) photo is taken on the Caribbean side of the locks. You can see the Atlantic Bridge, the largest concrete, cable-stayed, dual two-lane roadway bridge in the world. It is one of three bridges that cross over the canal (The Bridge of the Americas, on the west side of the canal, is my favourite).

Now back at home in Calgary, April's going to be filled with changes. Both the sequel to Janice Maidstone’s “The Aquamarine Necklace” (“What Love Made Us Do”) and the revised edition of “Under the Ombu Tree” are back from my editors and are waiting for me to do the final polishing. Can I look at their suggested changes with an open mind?