It Would Have to Be …living with change…

 (Originally posted September, 2011)

      There’s a very sweet old song that’s been running through my head lately, that begins “If I had to choose just one day, to last my whole life

through…” As I lie on our front doorstep watching the trees’ colors begin to shift, and smelling summer developing into autumn, it makes me think about the whole nature of change.

        Don’t we all have those moments like that song talks about? Where we feel “This is absolutely perfect. I wish time would stop here,

right now, and life could always be this way!” And as we think back on our pasts, those moments stick out. I think I’d choose a day on a beach, or on a mountain, when I felt free and powerful and connected to the whole universe, but also happily with friends I loved and trusted. Others might pick a holiday when they got all the presents they wanted, or a

really amazing romantic date (that’s what the song talks about!). What about you? If you had to choose just one day, to last your whole life through, what would you pick?

      Of course, now that I’ve gotten you thinking about that… it can’t happen. What a drag, huh? Whatever was happening at one moment in our lives was slightly different a moment later. Good moments change, bad moments change, and, sadly, great moments change too.

      It’s kind of a trick, learning how to live with that. On one hand, it’s good to sit back like me on the doorstep, watching the changes and enjoying the show. But on the other hand, life is all about pursuing what our passions, which means not just accepting whatever comes (unless that is your passion, which is awesome!). For example, if a

squirrel should happen to scurry by while I’m on that doorstep… I will definitely follow my bliss!

      Right now, where I live in the United States, most kids are starting a new year of school. And most of them are grumbling about it, of course.  They loved having their summer off, getting away, relaxing, playing, and they’re not happy at all about nine new months of sitting still all day and doing homework at night.

     And yet, and yet… every new school year brings so many possibilities! Kids meet most of their best friends at school, they often find their first romances at school. And occasionally, just every now and then, kids actually learn something at school they will enjoy and use! The truth is, the best day in any of those kids’ lives might actually happen in this school year! The day they think back on, thirty years from now, when they’re asked which day they’d choose to live in forever.

     Other places in the world, other changes are happening. Spring is blooming in the southern hemisphere. Flowers are exploding into their

brightest colors, and everyone’s putting their heavy winter clothes away. Kids there might be preparing for their final exams and getting ready to scream into the joy of their summer vacations.

      And then, of course, some changes aren’t just seasonal. Babies are being born at exactly the moment you read this. Someone just burst out into laughter so hard they can’t control it. Someone else just learned the worst news of their lives and started weeping. A scientist just discovered the results of an experiment that will help in curing a disease. Another person just said something that made their friend never trust them again. Someone else just said something that made them a new best friend. And someone else just looked into someone’s eyes and realized they will love that person forever. Dogs are howling, birds are curling up to go to sleep, and cats… well they’re just being silly old cats of course!

      Most humans would say that the most exciting

thing in the world right now is what’s happening in a lot of the Arab nations in the Middle East. The changes there will determine the future of the world. They could result in a beautiful peace, and prosperity for a lot of people who’ve been downtrodden for centuries… or they could result in continuation and escalation of the wars that have ravaged that area for decades. It’s thrilling, it’s scary… and it’s right now.

      And that’s the thing about change. It’s always right now. You could meet your next sweetheart today. You could be in a car accident too. When you turn on your radio, you might hear a song for the first time that becomes your favorite ever.