My "Change" Rant!

You know when I was on my back recovering from my surgery earlier this year, I spent a lot of time reading. Hey, it was the easiest thing that didn’t make me have to move or be uncomfortable and it kept my mind moving forward. I want share something that I read and provide the view I take from it. The passage was from a meditation book that I was reading to provide me with a little healthy posture, breathing, and exercises that I what not to assist me with my healing process. The statement was probably written by the author to emphasis a single, quick point that was foreshadowed by all the other elements of the book, but it stuck with me. So, here is the passage:

“The more we learn to let go and live with the changing things of this world as they are, the more we live in peace.” – Jack Kornfield, The Beginner’s Guide to Buddhism

Let me repeat that in my own words, “To learn to let go and realize that the world is an ever changing thing can bring peace.” Now, that is what I read. Does that say “to let go” means that one should never go forward in the pursuit of a better condition than what is before them. I do not think that is the meaning behind the statement at all. What is being offered is that to understand that the earth, the environment in which we live, the social climate, the fabric of our lives are all ever-evolving things. Always growing with or developing because of the external forces around. Like the “domino effect” happening all the time. The heart of the meaning lies in our personal decision to “accept change” and to understand that changes will occur on this road of life. Whether we like it or not, things are never the same. Sure, we can try to make ourselves feel better by saying “it has always been like that”. There might seem like historical consistencies are always there and probably are, but that is only when look on the surface of things and never travel far enough into the topic to realize the inconsistencies. Media plays on that fact. Politicians prey on it. The sooner one realizes that changes will and do occur, the sooner a peaceful mind can choose to understand the changes, accept them for what they are, adapt to the part of the changes that effect us as individuals, and overcome as necessary. It is not a numbing effect, but an educated awareness that frees you from the fear of the unknown. It is this thought process that prepares us for whatever arrives on our doorstep. And, the more prepared we are, the more we can help others prepare. Which sounds to me like the beginning of “unity” which is always a good thing!