Change is a constant.
Time passes, both friend and foe.
Always remember.
The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks accompanied by life’s (mostly unexpected, pleasant and otherwise) twists and turns inspire this morning’s Monday Maiku.
Change is a constant.
Change is a constant, some might say that’s an oxymoron, others might call it a paradox, but that’s no matter here. By acknowledging it and accepting that it’s always coming, resisting it as little as possible, controlling the one thing we can control (our response), yet not worrying about it until it’s upon us…that’s the ultimate challenge life presents—how to manage change and enjoy moments fully without the burden of worrying when or how the change will come.
Time passes, both friend and foe.
Time goes by, whether we fight it or float with it. Ups and downs, ebbs and flows, the circle game…always different, always changing…no matter how you look at it or how you want it. Inevitable, unavoidable, glorious, infuriating, affirming, annoying, sublime. Life can be described accurately by both synonyms and antonyms, often at the same time. My experience with and description of any moment in time could be completely different from the experience and description of millions of others. When we think of our own linear-ish experiences, the passage of time can feel at times equally giving and heartless and other times it can feel disproportionately cruel. Knowing that others are having the same (but not) experiences yet with highs and lows and responses and outcomes that are completely different from our own gives us some critical perspective. It illuminates both our extreme uniqueness and our extreme relative insignificance, and seeing that can help us find a sense of inner peace and balance.
Always remember.
Always remember. And never dwell. Well, always *try* to remember and *try* never to dwell. Remember the sacrifices of others that have gotten us from there to here. And not just on anniversaries. Remember to allow the lessons to inform us and propel us forward, always. Resist the urge to let the pain anchor us. Wherever we are is the result of an intricate and unrepeatable combination of good and bad decisions, of happenstance, of good fortune, of both earned and undeserved generosity, and of countless and maybe infinite random combinations of other life stuff, like coincidence and serendipity and timing and dumb luck and chance. For me this understanding helps me reflect on my experiences, which in turn allows me to optimize the lessons life is teaching me. It also reminds me not define myself by any single (past) action or be defined by anyone else. To always remember what’s important. Always remember that the line between frivolity and tragedy is thinner than the silk strand of a spider web. But also to remember that living life isn’t about nervously walking this line like a tightrope under the big top with the eyes of a crowd upon me—I just can’t forget the line is there.
It’s all so random, this life we’ve got on loan, so enjoy it for the happy accident it is. The Universe always has other plans, but The Universe can’t make us worry about them.
I may have shared my favorite Everything But the Girl song here before but it feels particularly appropriate now. Because we do walk the same line. We also walk different lines. And we walk them in the same and opposite directions, at the same and different speeds, at the same and different times. We diverge and converge constantly…and I’m grateful for our lines intersecting here regularly. Have a great week.