Surfing Change

Change has often been cited as a buzz-word in today’s modern world. Be it in adapting to the speed of technology that is fast garnering acceptance in every sphere or changing our perceptions, change is cited as the main reason that will empower us in the future. But change is the least possible alternative for some. For others, change can mean little or nothing.

As individuals, we need to change the way we perceive the world around us. People have changed, concepts have changed, for the good or bad. A lot of things in the world we know it today has changed beyond recognition. Be it landscapes where modern high rise buildings have come up or work ethics, change has altered our worldview.

Change, it must be said, isn’t always for good. Words like responsibility, accountability and obligations have been changed or altered, especially when it comes to the young generation. The game rules have changed for them; as a result, they believe they are living in the fast lane and imagine that everything comes easy. They are willing to put in less work for more rewards.

The concept of hard work is no longer their perceptive passport to success. The good old fashioned values are needed to be injected into the minds of the young who are fed consistently on the technology they are so adapt at. They move with the ebb and flow of technology and its vast resources. From social media such as Facebook and Twitter to web site and tools that enable them to perform various functions, the young have at their disposal an unimaginable wealth of resources no generation before them had.

Different pursuits

Change for them ideally must mean changing their coloured glasses for the ones that make them see the world through a more realistic lens. Values that were once taken for granted, such as respect for one’s parents, respect for each other, empathy, responsibility for one’s actions, being accountable etc are the so called values of the old world that the young can change towards acquiring – for the better.

Education opens new avenues

Change can come when we least expect it. A tsunami or a hurricane can change one’s life so fast, in one sweep, forcing the kind of change never thought possible. A sudden illness can also bring in change, forcing us to become more flexible and less rigid.

Change is not always expected yet when it happens, it is best to learn it live with it. Resisting change can do little – it will eventually wash over you and change the world around you, anyway.

We have seen lifestyles change with the children growing up. For parents, life changes when children grow up into adults and leave home. Lives once busy with school chores and homework suddenly give way to idle times that must be filled with different pursuits. Change can also occur with circumstances that force us to sing a different tune – a death, a life-threatening illness or a divorce. Change cannot be withheld but accepted with dignity and as much grace as possible.

Old perceptions

When change comes, it brings with it unexpected results, unbelievable issues and forces us to change the way we have thought and perceived things before. Change can be big or small yet its impact is often felt in ways that surprise us. Some of us need to be flexible and yielding – often, others who resist change and adamantly cling to their old perceptions, will be left disappointed and frustrated when change does happen.

The world has always been defined by change, be it socially, environmentally, business-wise or financially. Change has played such a major role in the world and its stage; anyone who believes that change will not come is dreaming. Change will always come and surprise you and sweep you in its wake unless you are prepared.

Some are happy to dream of change yet do little to bring that change. This is true mostly for those who are waiting for the kind of big change that will help them to become better. That kind of change will never come to those who wait for it. Change happens in our lives sometimes when we least expect it yet when we are prepared to do something to bring it about.