Times … They Do Change

“May you live in interesting times.” Is this traditional wisdom or is it a curse? Maybe both. At this moment in time, it doesn’t much matter because we are living in some very interesting times, and not only does change seem constant, but it may be picking up speed.

Just think for a moment about the rapid pace of change in technology. Three-dimensional printing is 30 years old. Driverless vehicles have successfully navigated the streets in multiple cities. The FAA has begun limited testing of drones for delivery of products to businesses. The iPhone is 10 ½ years old. (Introduced on June 29th, 2007.) It is estimated that 85-90% of all photographs taken each year are taken using a smartphone, not a camera. Instantaneous sharing of everything is rampant. Change is constant, and it’s everywhere!

Yes, the-times-they-are-a’-changing but not exactly the way Bob Dylan’s song’s lyrics conveyed, or the way we all wanted to imagine. (Unless, of course, you wrote or read science fiction.)

My choice is to remember that even if I can’t control the rate or change, I can control (or at least be aware of) what I think, and what I do in these “interesting times”. Things, people, and circumstances all change continuously, but I can remember that the Spirit within me is eternal, already perfect and changeless. What an amazing gift that — being part of the eternal Spirit.

When I remember that, I free myself up to make better choices. I can, sometimes, release the common hour thinking, expectations and ideas about what I should do, and instead focus on what I actually decide to do, or what I determine is mine to do.

Just so far as we depend upon any condition, past, present or future, we are creating chaos, because we are then dealing with conditions (effects) and not with causes.
— Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind 146.4

Life externalizes at the level of our thought.
— Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind 147.1

Bringing my self back to that state of inner balance when I know that I am Peace — not as an action, reaction or even response, but as my true state of being — then I know that the challenges I experience as a result of change are mine to respond to with my clearest, most thoughtful and deeply grounded effort. I expect nothing more or less than my best. I know that when I am in my right mind, when chosen with thought and trust, my choices will be mine, and not reactions to external conditions, and they will be my best.

So, I know that tomorrow’s happenings will likely be different from today’s, and the Spirit within me will always be the same. That essential core gives me direction and guidance, when I choose to be still and listen.

So, go in Peace, and know that this too shall pass – probably quite soon.

— Mariann Moery

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