Change is inevitable. What once was a lively neighborhood where children played tag and held summer neighborhood BBQ’s, is now filled with drab apartment buildings and crumbling streets. The local corner market run by the cute old Asian couple, is now a boutique. Best friends, now acquaintances. Family members gone or moved on. Change from what we had become accustomed to can feel jarring. Sadness is an appropriate human response to realizing what we can no longer experience. All we have now, are our memories of the experiences and people who brought us joy.
I wish that one of the lessons taught early on in life was the importance of appreciating the moment. Children have a hard time accepting that, play time is over, it’s time for a bath then bed. That feeling doesn’t really change all that much as we get older. Nostalgia will eat at you until you find a way to “recreate” that moment.
If change is good, why do we feel such indignation towards it when we see it happening? Is it really so bad to see the neighborhoods we grew up in evolve into a more populous town? Did we expect the store owners to never retire? Are we secretly desiring to organize a game of tag with our adult neighbors? This probably yes. The feelings that stir within us when faced with change should be acknowledged and analyzed. What is it that we are really upset about? There are many reasons we as humans reject change, some reasons are feelings of resentment, loss of control, and fear of the unknown.
If you’re reading this, I invite you to take a moment to address your own feelings when faced with change. Allow yourself to be open to feeling appreciation when the inevitable does happen.
