1 week Ago
I’ve been cogitating of late on all the changes I’ve experienced over my lifetime.Only natural I guess, as thinking about the past seems to have become my stock in trade as a writer. I’ll admit I go a little heavy on the nostalgia occasionally, but it’s important to note it’s all simply by way of acknowledging aspects of my life, and perhaps my readers’ lives as well — you know, establishing commonality.
It’s in no way a reflection of some deep-seated desire on my part to return to those times and places. If anything, for me it’s just a nod and wink: “yep, been there, done that, and I think I may even have the T-shirt around here somewhere.”You’ll have to admit though, it’s great fun for us older folks to trot out such reminiscences to illustrate for the younger generations exactly why their young lives are so much crappier than ours were.
Anyway, change ...
that’s really what I’m talking about here. And isn’t that what we’re seeing when we sift through a box of old photos and keepsakes — our journeys, the changes in our lives, captured in time? Change after change, after change! And yet, despite all that well-documented change, or perhaps because of it, nobody really likes it all that much. But we surely do love our comfort zones, don’t we? Along with all the coping mechanisms developed over lifetimes, we love our cutesy little habits and routines.
Any change to the flow of our lives is seen now simply as a disruption, because it requires letting go of our comfy security blankets.Being flexible and forward-thinking instead of rigid is not what one typically associates with older individuals. But it’s exactly what’s required.
Especially in times like these. If you think about it, change is the only true constant. Obviously, nothing stays the same; just look around you.
I don’t know about you, but I can really relate to that Buddy Miles song “Them Changes.” I actually think it would make a pretty good soundtrack, if for some strange reason they were ever to make a film about my life!I never experienced the idyllic, measured life some of my friends and acquaintances have recounted. I don’t know for sure if their stories are altogether true, or nostalgic revisionist history, but I guess growing up in the same home until leaving for college, getting married in their 20s, staying with that person while raising a family and working at the same job for 40-plus years is evidence enough.
By comparison, my own somewhat chaotic life has been a cakewalk of changes constantly boogying through and, for a time at least, disturbing whatever equanimity I’d managed to achieve since the last go round — like an endless Mardi Gras parade, only with chintzy, small-town floats and a rinky-dink high school marching band.As best I can explain it, chaos theory holds that there are underlying patterns and interconnection in what appears to be randomness in a seemingly chaotic system. I’d say that pretty well describes our lives, don’t you think? Always with the changes.
Major changes, and small incremental changes. Here a change, there a change, everywhere change. It seems chaotic, yet it’s these patterns — and the interconnectedness of our lives — that hold us fast and ultimately allow us to reassemble ourselves to create a new reality — over and over and over.
Albert Einstein said, “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” If that’s the case, I think l may actually be a genius!But seriously, I know I’m not alone in all this. To one extent or another we’ve all been marching behind, or riding on one of those floats, our entire lives.
Stop and think for a moment about all you’ve experienced — not just personally, but in general: Across at least 14 political administrations during our lifetimes, we’ve been involved in countless wars and conflicts around the world, numerous periods of widespread social unrest here at home, inexplicable and seemingly never-ending incidences of gun violence, and a constant flow of major cultural shifts that, frankly, have left many of us struggling to keep up as the world accelerates Ferrari-like into a somewhat frightening future.So back to all that “cogitating” I mentioned before. When it comes to some of the changes currently taking place in our country, I simply see more of the same old worn-out and re-treaded, off-off-Broadway theatrical drama we’ve seen reenacted our entire lives.
But that’s not to imply we shouldn’t attend this most recent performance. In fact, I’ve been enjoying all the reviews I’ve read. Apparently, the cast is really quirky, and the director has spiced things up a bit in the hope of getting audiences more involved.
I want to see what all the hoopla’s about, so I’m definitely buying a ticket — when it comes to these kinds of performances, I like to form my own opinion.In the meantime, I think I’ll do pretty much what I’ve always done: I’m keepin’ my head down, and my eyes, ears and mind open.W.
R. van Elburg is a James City County resident. He can be reached at w.
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