Sunday Musings - July 18, 2021
Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic philosopher is reputed to have said, “You cannot step into the river twice.” He also said, “The only constant is change.”
Many of us are fearful of change and, yet we know that the opposite of change is not standing still but moving backwards.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Meditation on a Solitary Walk said, “Everything is in a constant state of flux.”
I am sure these wise reminders have been repeated by wise men and women since the beginning of time. I am equally sure that every living being is confronted with these truths.
Despite the kernels of wisdom which are patently obvious us humans often become very anxious when presented with the reality of change. We seem to be particularly fond of the illusion of permanence. At the same time most would admit they become easily bored and look forward to adventures which, of course, are about change. One might wonder what makes the differences, if one labels an upcoming event an adventure one might experience an anticipatory excitement which is similar to anxiety. One might have second thoughts about the upcoming adventure, but often one will follow through and be happy they did so.
The history of most of us is that we do fine with change. We may get anxious, kick and fuss for a bit, but we meet life on life’s terms. Sometimes we do better than just meet life on life’s terms. We manage to use the new situation as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Brain Greens the theoretical physicist and his colleagues remind us that we emerged from chaos and every step of our evolution is, by definition, the result of change. He reminds us that when particles pull on each other gravitationally they come closer together resulting in them falling in on themselves into an ordered ball creating a star or a planet. Similarly, opposing social forces may also fall in on themselves into an ordered new creation analogous to a star or a planet.
Of course, there are negative changes. War, poverty, oppression, domestic violence, sexual assault, vehicle accidents, addiction, cancer and other diseases bring great suffering. The collapsed of a high-rise condo in Florida, 93,000 addiction related deaths this past year in the United States, the attachment to guns in the United States and the resulting B grade movie like behavior of pulling out guns to shoot each other over some disagreement, the damage by “acts of God”, the brainwashing abuse by some religious individuals and institutions, and a host of other destructive actions acutely affect many.
Some attribute change to the god of their understanding. I heard a clergy person recently say that climate change is a result of the god of their understanding being angry about gay marriage. I heard another cleric say that the cure to social ills is for men (those beings with genetically we associate with males) to reassert their duty as head of the family and for females to “submit” to their husbands. These clerics may be expressing sincere beliefs and/or they may be consciously or unconsciously be acting out of a fear of the loss of authoritative power.
On this Sunday what if we accept “we cannot step into the same river twice.”? What if all is possible? What if out of the chaos of our opposing forces we create a new star or a new planet, a new symphony or a new Sistine Chapel ceiling?
Written July 18, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic philosopher is reputed to have said, “You cannot step into the river twice.” He also said, “The only constant is change.”
Many of us are fearful of change and, yet we know that the opposite of change is not standing still but moving backwards.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Meditation on a Solitary Walk said, “Everything is in a constant state of flux.”
I am sure these wise reminders have been repeated by wise men and women since the beginning of time. I am equally sure that every living being is confronted with these truths.
Despite the kernels of wisdom which are patently obvious us humans often become very anxious when presented with the reality of change. We seem to be particularly fond of the illusion of permanence. At the same time most would admit they become easily bored and look forward to adventures which, of course, are about change. One might wonder what makes the differences, if one labels an upcoming event an adventure one might experience an anticipatory excitement which is similar to anxiety. One might have second thoughts about the upcoming adventure, but often one will follow through and be happy they did so.
The history of most of us is that we do fine with change. We may get anxious, kick and fuss for a bit, but we meet life on life’s terms. Sometimes we do better than just meet life on life’s terms. We manage to use the new situation as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Brain Greens the theoretical physicist and his colleagues remind us that we emerged from chaos and every step of our evolution is, by definition, the result of change. He reminds us that when particles pull on each other gravitationally they come closer together resulting in them falling in on themselves into an ordered ball creating a star or a planet. Similarly, opposing social forces may also fall in on themselves into an ordered new creation analogous to a star or a planet.
Of course, there are negative changes. War, poverty, oppression, domestic violence, sexual assault, vehicle accidents, addiction, cancer and other diseases bring great suffering. The collapsed of a high-rise condo in Florida, 93,000 addiction related deaths this past year in the United States, the attachment to guns in the United States and the resulting B grade movie like behavior of pulling out guns to shoot each other over some disagreement, the damage by “acts of God”, the brainwashing abuse by some religious individuals and institutions, and a host of other destructive actions acutely affect many.
Some attribute change to the god of their understanding. I heard a clergy person recently say that climate change is a result of the god of their understanding being angry about gay marriage. I heard another cleric say that the cure to social ills is for men (those beings with genetically we associate with males) to reassert their duty as head of the family and for females to “submit” to their husbands. These clerics may be expressing sincere beliefs and/or they may be consciously or unconsciously be acting out of a fear of the loss of authoritative power.
On this Sunday what if we accept “we cannot step into the same river twice.”? What if all is possible? What if out of the chaos of our opposing forces we create a new star or a new planet, a new symphony or a new Sistine Chapel ceiling?
Written July 18, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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