This note is about the verb "change" and not the noun change (e.g. coins of low denomination, fresh set of clothing, etc. )!
We often talk about the need to change, adapting to change, change of attitude, mind or ways. In all these examples we are talking about self motivated change that in most cases is driven by circumstances that have unfolded in our lives and potentially resulting from emulating people we admire.
A change in our lives may occur either slowly (over the years) or rapidly as a result of a single-event upset. Rate of change will differ from one individual to another and therefore I will leave that statement in its present form rather than attempting to break it down further!
It is a fact of life that as we grow older we will slow down in performing several activities that we were previously able to do. However, because of our changing world and technological innovations, we may also continue to learn new skills and, as a result, we may perform activities which were previously unavailable!
Arguments for and against whether or not change in our lives is preordained has posed itself over the centuries. Whereas I am not sufficiently versed in either religious or philosophical dogma to unequivocally answer that question, my instinct, coupled with my acquired with age logic, prompts me to conclude that, like light, which has a dual nature of wave and particle, change must have a similar duality in nature too.
After all, if all change is preordained, what control do we have over our lives? Whether we believe in a Supreme power or in forces of nature, fairness dictates that we must have a clear choice in many aspects of change in our lives, and, of course, by the same token, you can make your own choice as to what to believe!
We often talk about the need to change, adapting to change, change of attitude, mind or ways. In all these examples we are talking about self motivated change that in most cases is driven by circumstances that have unfolded in our lives and potentially resulting from emulating people we admire.
A change in our lives may occur either slowly (over the years) or rapidly as a result of a single-event upset. Rate of change will differ from one individual to another and therefore I will leave that statement in its present form rather than attempting to break it down further!
It is a fact of life that as we grow older we will slow down in performing several activities that we were previously able to do. However, because of our changing world and technological innovations, we may also continue to learn new skills and, as a result, we may perform activities which were previously unavailable!
Arguments for and against whether or not change in our lives is preordained has posed itself over the centuries. Whereas I am not sufficiently versed in either religious or philosophical dogma to unequivocally answer that question, my instinct, coupled with my acquired with age logic, prompts me to conclude that, like light, which has a dual nature of wave and particle, change must have a similar duality in nature too.
After all, if all change is preordained, what control do we have over our lives? Whether we believe in a Supreme power or in forces of nature, fairness dictates that we must have a clear choice in many aspects of change in our lives, and, of course, by the same token, you can make your own choice as to what to believe!
Hani Badawi
December 4, 2016
