Only one commenter, responding to Sunday's post, said she didn't think people could change at a fundamental level. Everyone else has experienced fundamental change in themselves or others, or at least believes it's possible.
Of course my post did not produce a valid statistical result. It was not a Wall Street Journal poll, thank God. The responses confirm what I believe, that change at a fundamental level is always possible. Even old dogs can learn new tricks.
I have learned new tricks time and time again, sometimes by choice, sometimes by circumstance, sometimes by force. Even the smallest change in the way I think or frame my experience resonates throughout my whole being. You could probably find traces of these shifts on my DNA, well, if you knew where to look and had a big enough microscope.
Though I can't honestly say I welcome every transformation or that I've been happy with every fundamental shift I've experienced, the truth is that every change has brought with it great rewards. Change opens my mind and heart, helps increase my ability to tolerate situations I don't understand or agree with, and reminds me to take anything and everything - even the parts of myself I feel most passionately about - with a sense of humor and a big grain of salt.
We humans truly are such an adorable species, always striving to be "better." Aren't we sweet?
18 comments:
Who you calling sweet? :)
Change is the only guarantee in life!
i like the fact that humans cannot tell a lie without rubbing their noses. i think thats sweet. ok so politicians and such try to mask it but even they cannot resist running a finger down the side of the nose in 'contemplation' . technically it means 'that you doubt the validity of what you are saying'. :-)
Call me the tail of the Bell curve! Maybe I'll have to think about this some more and "change" my mind given all the other comments. :)
My response was based on my observation that most people I know remain the same at the "core" level, despite outward change. I think that is true for me, although in many ways I am different than I was 5 years ago.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, Barbara!
yeah Merle, I'm calling you SWEET!! And I'm not rubbing my nose while I say it.
I think that the "always striving to be better" thing is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's good, perhaps even noble, that people have the ability to want to be better than they already are and to act on that urge. On the other hand, many people get so busy with the "improving" process that they never rest in the moment to appreciate where they are. The chronic belief that many people seem to have that they always need to somehow be "fixed" can lead to all sorts of trouble and unhappiness. I think that, as with many things, balance is the key here.
I love that Buddhist saying (paraphrasing here) that we're all perfect exactly as we are, and, there's room for improvement.
Adrianne is touching on what I meant when I said "I think the real trick is coming to accept ourselves as we are and not demand that we make changes." There is such a feeling of security in the present moment that doesn't allow us to even THINK about change, let alone make it! We are what we are at any point in time.
indeed we are, sweetie.
Hi Reya, here comes the real Angela. I did not write the bit about rubbing noses. Who was it??
I don`t think that what we do is actually change - I would call it growing, like with year rings. You are still the same you, only you learned and always do learn new things. It`s like I still feel the child in me that I once was, but I am much MORE now, more self-assured, more relaxed, more experienced, with different thioughts and attitudes - but still ME.
I like your blog - excellent pictures and ideas of change :) (I didn't rub my nose when I said that)
now. that cloud heart is sweet. and bet it changed in an instant! another deeply relevant beautiful post reya...THANKS! and hope your health is good and risin' xxx janelle
oh yes, ahem, sorry - twas me wrote the pearls of wisdom about nose rubbing.... didnt realise i was still in Angela's space having pasted up her latest post for her. gets a bit confusing for the one lonely brain cell.
Oh, never mind, Val. I`m glad it was you and not someone who posts mails and orders sofas and diving suits under my name. The nose rubbing habit is interesting, and I think looking to the left is also a sign for lying. (So next time you write with my name, look to the left and rub your nose!)
Sorry Reya, this was private, haha.
What I love about change is the way it opens my heart just that little bit more allowing the beauty of the world to rush inside.
I discovered this poet yesterday and thought you might enjoy him too. He is best read outside under a flowering cherry tree but all his poems are also published on his website.
song of light - Shabbir Banoobhai
a flame lights a candle
brighter than the sun
in the instant it wavers
before becoming alive
an ocean of mercy is formed
in which all things are created
the flame sets the wax on fire
but it is the wick that burns
love dissolving the lover
at the beloved's return
http://www.veilsoflight.com/new_work_bookofsongs.htm#silence
Hele - wow!
i keep forgetting to look for that nose rubbing!
reya, i love your posts about change, and i love all the comments on this subject, and your comments on the comments!
we've had the same clouds of late, no more fog, thankyou weather god!
xx lori
P.S. That green chair just does not look right without you sitting in it. . . . (: )
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