Meandering Mindsets

Did you ever notice that during our waking hours there is an inner monologue, or a conversation with ourselves that only ends when we fall asleep. Perhaps this constant flow of thought is an attempt to understand and explain what is going on around us. All those senses happily supplying information for us to process. Of course this inner conversation is influenced by our mindset (a 'particular way of thinking' - Merriam Webster) as well.They tell us that such mindsets are either fixed with an established set of attitudes or growth orientated and open.

This got me thinking about how we deal with change. I think as we grow older we truly begin to understand that our lives are a series of natural and spontaneous changes. It becomes clear that not much in the world is fixated, but rather everything is a series of natural and spontaneous change. At the same time nature adheres to its basic natural laws. As Stephen  Hawking says, 'that the universe is governed by a set of rational laws that we can discover and understand'. - (A Brief History of Time.)

But no matter how well we understand the nature of change it is not easy to let go and move forward. As someone once pointed out we are often between the devil we know and the devil we don't know and often we chose the former! Change is a result of biology for example.  I just have to look in the full-length mirror after a shower to know that!  Some change we can control ourselves. Sometimes it is caused by others or what we sometimes call fate. But what is important is how we deal with change and learn to move on.

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There was a study done by the New York Times last year that showed that since 1980 over three quarters of American households experienced layoffs! Obviously, modern technology is changing the way we live together with others in the world and it is doing it at a breath taking pace! Growing up in Saint John, New Brunswick I don't remember one new house being built, nor any changes to the buildings in the town centre. Today around Toronto it is easy to get lost in an area you were familiar with only a few years ago!

I believe it's true that young people, in general, are more open to change than we elders. That seems to be true in most cultures. But if we are not careful it is so easy to get set in our ways.  If we allow that to happen we can miss out on so many opportunities to engage in this great voyage called life.

Churchill once said, "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." He also said, "If you are going through hell, keep going."

And that's Dick's Vies of  the World this Week

Did You Know?

Nelson Mandela said," May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."