The Winds of Change

So Many Kinds of Change

I was thinking about change this morning while I had my coffee.  We see so many different kinds of change every day of our lives!  

Change begins early, when we're children.   Our parents give us constant guidance for ways we need to grow and change. Most of those changes were taught to us so we would be accepted by others and so we wouldn’t appear offensive to society. 

Of course, most of those changes only came about because we got caught doing THE offensive something in the first place:

"Chew with your mouth closed.”
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
"Do not touch, show, scratch, or fondle your private parts in public."
"Cover your mouth when you burp, sneeze, or cough."
"Do not fart, pass gas, or have barking spiders in public. It's offensive to others."

As we grew older, change began to come more and more from within ourselves:

We want better grades : we change our study habits. 
We have a bad hair day : ask a friend who does their hair: dump our old hairstylist/barber.
Our friend pushes us down in the playground : we find a new friend.
Say a bad word : get our mouth washed out with soap, say it again only in private or with close friends.
We can’t attract the opposite sex by teasing, pulling hair, or pushing them down : we try just being nice to them.

As adults, change nearly always comes because, for whatever reason, we see a real problem and choose to make the change to fix it:

This job sucks : find a new one
This marriage sucks : go to counseling : get a divorce
This car or truck sucks: trade it in : get a different one
This coffee, pizza, restaurant sucks : change to different ones
This speeding ticket sucks : stop speeding
This music, TV station sucks : change the channel
This house sucks : sell it an buy another

I think the changes we resent the most are those pointed out or demanded by others, unless we love and respect them and we’re sure they love and respect us, too. Nothing is more hurtful than to be told we would only be loved if we change. Who wouldn't resent that?

This all naturally brings up the question, "Do we really have to change?"  The answer lies within a joke I heard years ago:  

"How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?"  

The answer : "It depends on whether or not the light bulb wants to change."

... and so it is with life.