Change, The Future, Me and You!

 

A different kind of post for today! This is a bit of a ramble but hopefully you find something useful.  

Somebody, smarter than I, said something like "The only thing that stays the same is change itself." Things in life are always changing and evolving. Don't like where you are or how things are going? You have two choices, do something different or do nothing. Even if you decide to do nothing, change will still come given enough time. The problem with just hanging around is the change may not be what you want. But if you truly don't know what to do, it can be best to simply stop and let change come to you. Slow down and or stop and let the path forward open up on it's own. "When you don't know what to do, do nothing." Here's the thing, we always have a choice. No matter the size of a challenge or situation, we are free in how we react to it. People often fear change because it ties in with the unknown. Some look backwards.

We like the good old days because we know what happens. Our minds are naturally programmed to suppress or forget bad  memories like a few wins at the card table make us forget all the lost hands. "I sure am good at cards!" I tell myself while in truth, I suck at card games. So it goes when we remember so-called golden ages be they '50's, 60's or 70's. I guess in the near future we will learn to love the 80's and 90's! The times are the same. There's always good and bad most often mixed in together. Our minds, still working the same, will weed out many of the bad memories giving rise to shifting time frames for "The Good Old Days." I don't know about you, but I'm more interested in what happens in the future. If you want me to follow you, tell me how bright the future can be and how we are going to make it happen! Yeah, sure the 70's were cool and all but that does not mean I want to return to disco and leisure suits! I'm content listening to old music, remembering my good times while exploring new music and looking forward. No, today's music does not suck! Ask around, find new places / ways to find stuff to listen to and try new genres; I'm sure you can find plenty of sweet new sounds to soak in. The wheels are going to keep turning, time only goes one way. 

There is no way back to the simpler good old days. I deify you to tell me a leader who wanted their society to go back in time and turned out to be the good guy / gal. Let's look for leaders (be leaders) who want to accomplish big things (think Kennedy's moon commitment). Let's find people / be people who want more out of life than fame, cash and power. Let's find / be those who want the future to be more just. It will never be perfect. I'm not sure what that is or even looks like. I just know we can do better, must do better.

On the macro scale the whole world is rapidly changing. How and who different nations align with are evolving, the so-called war on terror is shifting to competition with Russia and China and the world is growing more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. The challenge of climate change can bring us more together or play a major part in breaking up the international system as we know it. I'm sure it will do some of both. That does not mean we should all run for the hills with seeds, tools and guns. Not yet anyway. Remember today's radical idea will be tomorrow's norm. It's only a matter of time before gas powered cars and clear cut industrial farming are things of the past. They too, like the racism and conformity of the 50's, will be forgotten when the 20's become the good old days of the future. A better future cannot create itself. There are indeed plenty of challenges and dangers ahead. 

I can only speak for myself on a micro level. I'm letting the change come to me. I'm not being totally still while riding out the pandemic. I simply want to do and be a little better than yesterday so when the big changes do come, I'll be ready. I read, write and exercise almost every day. I want to stay optimistic and even more important, teachable. I know I don't have all the right answers but hopefully, I can ask some of the right questions. Some I'll try to answer here on this blog. What about you? What do you do to stay positive and work for a better future?