There's change, then there is Change, and then there is CHANGE!!!! My office moved from room 2522 to 2528, and I am still working on getting all the files and books where they belong. My company is going through a large upheaval; that is Change with a capital C.
On the other hand, those changes must be put in perspective. Those are the roll-with-the punches type of change that determine our character, that build us into the people we become, that teach us life lessons. It is through those changes that we find what we are made of and how we react to difficulties and overcome obstacles. Only when a challenge comes our way do we learn if we can successfully rise to the occasion -- and by definition, that requires change.
Sometimes what we think of as CHANGE is really only change. It takes opening our eyes and noticing the circumstances of our friends and neighbors -- both near and far -- to understand that what we thought was CHANGE is really only change. For example, people in Joplin, Missouri are truly experiencing CHANGE. Their lives have been irrevocably altered by a tornado that leveled their community. When I starting writing this, 125 people were dead, 900 injured and 232 still missing. And Joplin is not the only community affected by the storms. Oklahoma was hit the day before I started writing, but the flooding has been horrific throughout the entire spring this year over at least a third of the United States.
I have several people close to me that have lost family members or that have family members that are near death. Those people are not dealing with (little c)change. They are struggling with trying to live in a world that will no longer have meaning for them; no sunshine; no laughter; no joy --- at least not for a long while.
Then there are the changes that our bodies go through as time takes its toll. I learned a few days ago that a man I worked with early in my career died last summer. A talented lawyer with a brilliant mind, he also brought life to any party. What hurt the most, however, devastated me in fact, was finding out that he died from Alzheimer's disease at only age 71. I still see his gleaming blue eyes with that hint of mischief, and can't help but wonder ....
So I'll deal with all the piddly little stuff like moving a few boxes, and even the extra heavy workload associated with a corporate split, separation, spin-off or whatever they want to call it. And at some point I'll have to deal with the big Changes, too. I probably won't get to plan those. I am trying to learn to keep perspective on the really big CHANGES - the things I care about most, those whom I love are infinitely more important than any material thing on earth. Things can be replaced and most mistakes can be fixed. I love you, I'm sorry, and Can you forgive me -- need to be said to people before it's too late. Once more, with feeling.
