Change can be a difficult word for human existence, an inevitable and constant force that shapes lives, societies and the world at large.
While the concept of the word may seem simple at first glance, its implications are profound and multifaceted.
Change can bring growth, innovation and progress, but it can also provoke resistance, fear and uncertainty.
At its core, change refers to the process of becoming different. This could be a shift in circumstances, perspectives, behaviour or conditions.
It can be internal, involving personal growth or mindset transformation, or external, impacting the environment, relationships or societal structures.
Change is neither inherently good nor bad, it is neutral until given meaning by those experiencing it.
A career change can be an exciting opportunity for one person and a stressful challenge for another.
When one tires of their job and seeks new employment, this change comes in many forms. It can be exciting to have a new boss, new friends and a different routine, but it is a change that the person was looking for.
For others who may have lost their job, it can be a stressful change, as they were not seeking new employment or meeting new people, they did not want a different routine. The change is a challenge for them.
Personal change involves self-improvement. Learning or evolving in response to life experience. It could be adopting a healthier way of life by dieting, going to the gym or personal growth by changing our attitudes and becoming more positive. This change can give us less stress and a fruitful mind.
Changing our attitudes can be difficult, especially when we think it is someone else's attitude that needs changing.
Some people are controlling, bossy and need to be right, asking for such a change is an issue that the person themselves may not see.
I remember as a child my mom saying for us to change our clothes. What was the purpose of this? As kids, we saw nothing wrong with coming home from school and going to the barn to do chores, but for my mom the change was important. It kept our school clothes in better shape, and wearing our old worn-out clothes to the barn made more sense. It was important for her, as clothing was expensive and keeping our good clothing longer meant fewer expenses for the family.
It was the same on Sundays when we went to church. We did not darn go out and play in our church clothes. We changed as soon as we returned home.
This change was a simple matter, one that meant more to the parent than it meant to the child, yet the child did so without challenging the issue or questioning it.
There is also the change that we are not prepared for, and this one is the most difficult.
The loss of a loved one is a change that no one wants to go through, yet it is something that many experience every day in their lives.
This change can be sudden through an accident or one that we know is only a matter of time, but we do not want to accept it.
If only this kind of change was easy, but it is not.
When I received the call that my mom had passed away, we knew for several days that the call was coming. I thought it would have been easier. After all, she was 97, but this change, not having my mom to call, is still something I am not used to, although it has gotten easier.
Change is a powerful word, and it can be quite complex. It is a word that should not be taken lightly. After all, for some, the changes are welcoming and for others, it is a totally different way of life.
