Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Death and taxes.
These are the only things we can be certain of in life, as Benjamin Franklin remarked when referring to the – at the time – newly penned Constitution. Writing to a friend, Franklin expresses his hope that it would endure through the years, “but,” he writes, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Having confronted both these certainties in the past week, while also in the process of bringing another chapter of my life to a close, it occurred to me that the other great certainty in life is Change.
Change is unavoidable. We all have to deal with it in one form or another. Aging alone, the most unavoidable change, forces us to adapt, to make accommodations, or modify our behaviour.
Gone are the days, for example, when I could tuck into a giant bowl of spaghetti without a second’s thought. Now, I do so in a measured way, perhaps not as frequently, and certainly with the knowledge that my body will show the effects for a couple of days at least.
No longer am I able down copious amounts of alcohol and dance until 3am, then get up the next day to do it again. Alcohol must now be imbibed at a respectable pace lest I wish to spend the next two days in a migraine fog, but worse still, I can hardly make it past 10pm without dreams of my luscious silk pillowcase invading my waking thoughts.
The irony of all this is that, despite its inevitability, most people don’t like change. In fact, many of us go to great lengths to avoid it, sometimes putting up with miserable circumstances simply because we cannot deal with change. It’s not even the unknown on the other side that worries us; it’s the effort of making changes that we simply cannot deal with. Life is hard enough as it is, it takes all our energy to deal with the here and now – a here and now that we’ve learned to accept – why complicate things by making changes?!
Why? Because without change, nothing changes. You don’t get happier, you don’t get healthier, you don’t get stronger, wiser, or braver. You don’t get less lonely, or more loved. Without change, you don’t become less stressed, or more satisfied.
Without change, you don’t grow. And if you’re not growing, then you’re not being the best person you can possibly be.
When the world seems to be out of control - like it appears to be right now - sometimes looking inwards and taking charge of your own life can be a life-affirming experience. Giving yourself into change is exciting. Actually bringing on change, is electrifying.
I say, go for it. I have, many times. I’m not saying it’s not daunting or challenging, it is, and you can feel like an imposter at times, but I’ve never regretted it. And neither will you.