Dancing with Change

Years ago I read a story about a woman named Elsa, in a book Callings, who made a vow while still in her twenties that every 5 years she would stop whatever she was doing and do something different. Elsa was an adventurer and her adventures took her all over the world as she took on new jobs and careers every five years. She was a living example of the adage; a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Change is difficult for many of us. We have been taught to create a life plan, to have constancy with our work, friendships, and the place we live. Just remodeling your home can be devastating to your daily routine. Suddenly the house is full of carpenters, electricians, noise and dust.  The thought of remodeling your life every five years may not sound like an adventure but rather a big noisy mess that you would rather not even think about. Change can be viewed as a disruption of those things you want to remain the same. But like it or not, change is always in the air and sometimes comes upon us at what appears to be the most inconvenient time.

Author Alan Watts wrote in The Wisdom of Insecurity, that change is the essence of life. Without change, life becomes very predictable. Watts compared lack of change to stagnation. He said that we have been taught to seek security in just about every realm of life, but once having it, has it helped us achieve peace of mind?  We seek job security and financial security, but are they really the goal of life? Watts believes that we abhor being stuck. But our fear of failure may prevent us from testing our wings and reinventing ourselves. We may want to change but just don’t know how to go about it. Watts said that the best thing we can do is to join the dance of change.

Apple Founder Steve Jobs wrote, “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”

Over a fifty year period, Elsa worked in dozens of different jobs and took on new challenges all over the world. Change was her friend and constant companion. She owned homes, lived in apartments, teepees, campgrounds, and hotels. Elsa got married at age 72 and made her marriage the exception to radically changing her life every 5 years.

Maya Angelou wrote, “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” Perhaps you have been longing to explore a new place to live, new job opportunities, and have a deep interest in traveling to new places and learning about different cultures. Change does not have to be lived out as extremely as the life of Elsa, but as George Bernard Shaw said, “Progress is impossible without change and if you cannot change your mind, you cannot change anything.”