2008:
I suggested to a friend he
might consider changing some of his habits. “It’s a bit late now”. And that was
from a 25 year old!
At whatever age change happens,
it can improve everything, but often it’s too little, too late. Or we do
something so radical that we don’t stand a in hell of keeping it up.
Competition with other humans
plays a big part here – if it won’t help us win status amongst our friends it
won’t seem like such a good idea. Because we regard self development as a
competitive sport, success becomes more important than the actual enjoyment of
it. Consequently, we don’t enjoy the process of change. We race one another to
be more special, more rich, more well known, more revered, more liked, and so
on. The very process of change is supposed to be enjoyable. It’s the risk, the
uncertainty which is the essence of it. It isn’t to be confused with
teeth-grindingly hard self discipline.
Change is a teacher. It keeps
us creative and on our toes. It gives life edge. It draws us into a less
judgemental forgivingness, because the best change always recognises (and
respects) mistakes and misjudgements. If ‘change’ were our teacher, it would be
patient enough to appreciate even our smallest movement forward.
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