The most constant thing in this world is change

The idea that change is the most constant thing in everyday life seems to be an oxymoron. But it is true that changes occur in and around us every moment whether we are conscious of them, or not.

No one readily welcomes change unless it jingles in his or her pocket. Your boss asks you over to his or her office and says, “We are going to make some changes in staffing arrangements here”. Your immediate reaction is one of trepidation; you think you are going to lose your job. This is the sort of change which we all are inclined to dread.

Change plays enormously important functions in our lives as the following discussion will indicate.

One aspect of human ageing is the biological. This biological ageing can be accelerated by improper nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles, and retarded, or even reversed, by wholesome body maintenance. For instance, tired, worn-out and disused body muscle mass can be re-invigorated by engaging in regular physical exercise. Regular exercise coupled with adequate nutrition can reverse such effects as high blood pressure and improper blood sugar balance. So a change from a sedentary to an active lifestyle can enormously benefit our health.

Our psychological age can be affected by changes in our way of thinking. Have you ever come across a middle-aged man who has just received the bad news about his beloved wife’s sudden death? This man, depending on his willpower, could wither into premature senescence in a matter of days, or shrug off the incidence as the work of God and move on. An elderly lady, who recalls her first love, could straight-away look and sound as if she has turned a sweet sixteen again. To the extent to which we can change at any instant the way we think, we can improve our overall body chemistry.

Our mode of thinking also affects our overall wellbeing. A person who thinks that he/she is friendless, discarded, uncared-for and unloved could easily fall prey to depression. If we constantly expect to be withdrawn, useless and unfit for gainful employment after a certain chronological age, we could then create selfsame conditions that justify our expectations. A body guided by a troubled mind will accept, and even attract, the virus it needs to translate its mental symptoms into physical reality. Our deepest assumptions are the trigger for psychological changes in our bodies. So we might as well be mindful of our thoughts and beliefs, always endeavouring to substitute [change] the negative self-limiting with the positive self-enhancing.

One attribute of the long-lived is their ability and willingness to accept and accommodate changes, knowing fully well the aphorism, “You should accept what you cannot change and change what you cannot accept”.

As old solicitor is regarded as one with immense erudition and versed in law. And yet that disciple as huge and old as law nowadays changes fast. Note the rapidity with which parliament enacts new laws and modifies existing and obsolete ones. Therefore, a lawyer has to continually upgrade his/her knowledge to accommodate the changes taking place. Similarly, an electronic engineer who describes him-or herself as ‘old’ is one who stops to update and to-up their knowledge of electronics. He/she will soon learn that they are obsolete, since changes in concepts and technological developments in electronics occur with breath-taking rapidity.

So, in all walks of life it is necessary that we be prepared for changes, willing to learn to adjust our minds to accept those changes, if we can, without compromising our fundamental beliefs, which, after all, are the hallmarks of our individuality.