The Change Era

Change is the only constant in life, it has been remarked. To change is to grow, to “get with the times”, to be who you were always meant to be. So why does it sometimes feel catastrophic?

Why do things have to change? Why can’t they stay the same?

The issue is that you don’t know what you have is good until it’s gone. The absence highlights the worth of what came before. Because you may still be there, mentally, in that phase of your life. Tethering yourself by any means necessary because you don’t know any different. And when storms arrive, you cling to familiarity. Comfort. Routine.

But unfortunately the storms aren’t always preventable. Sometimes they’re not actually storms but a changing of guard, perhaps just five years too early. We all have some sort of idea on what we might want now or in the future. We know our goals and dreams. So what happens when something impacts that trajectory?

You see, change is a funny thing because I always think of it as personal, so it has to be affecting my life for it to be classed as change. But those around you play a larger role than you think, and the changes they experience may force you to reconsider your  own choices. Where are you? What are you doing? How does it compare?

I think that change can force a lot of reconsideration, nostalgia, perhaps even regrets. It is scary and almost “world-ending” in the sense that it is uncertain, and therefore what comes is not known to be either positive or negative, put simply.

We always think we’ll have more time. More time to spend with friends running in the school corridors. More time to study for exams that supposedly determine our paths. More time to talk and dance and love in the ways we know how.

Change is daunting. But once it comes, understanding the emotions behind it and recognising that life will be different is a step closer to acceptance. Change itself does not necessarily reflect on you, because there are so many variables outside of your control.

It has been said you can’t change what happens in life. But you can change your actions and the way you deal with what’s in front of you. And it’s ok to use hindsight and reflect on what has happened and how you would respond differently now, as long as you don’t stay stuck in the past.

Change - similar to standing at a train platform and deciding where to go

*Image was taken by the author in Berlin, Germany - all rights reserved

#change #transformation #lifestyle #future #decisions #choices