Why are so many people fearful of change? Its really strange if you think about it. We live in a universe that consists of nothing but change. We humans have not stopped morphing and changing for a single second, and every time I look in the mirror, I look 10 minutes older. Anyway, change really is THE only constant in this life. Still, some of us are deathly afraid of it. Our egos seem to be genetically programmed to only be concerned with the 70-90 years that we happen to inhabit. We can look at history and the massive, sweeping movements that have taken place; we can also project into the future based on the daily advancements made in the technology, and imagine a world completely unlike ours, but somehow we want as little change as possible to take place during our individual time here on earth. That's an old survival mechanism left over from the ole' hunter gatherer era, but I'll save that one for another day because...I'm really interested in the idea of people desperately clinging to the past. So many people look back at some other time, whether it be the ten years or so when they were in the prime of their lives, or they connect with a time that they've only read about, and they've created these elaborate fantasies about how innocent it was back then, and how everything was better. We're watching a new pseudo political party make a whole lot of noise based on that premise. "We need to get back to what our fore fathers intended this country to be!", they scream. That sounds nice, and compelling, and definitely pulls on the heart strings; but you know what? IT ISN'T 1776 ANYMORE! I don't understand you people! What is your obsession with an era in time that has long since passed? Have you looked around lately? Is that all you can come up with? The world resembles a Hieronymus Bosch painting and all you've got is, "let's go back to the mid 18th century, or the 1950's when everything was just grand"? STOP IT! Now before you write me off, I do believe in tradition, and ancient principles. There's no questioning that. What I don't believe in is denying the fact that we are living in the Twilight Zone at the moment, and we have to deal with it on it's terms. We don't want to accept the fact that no ones in control I guess. Attempting to turn the clock back at this point is a ridiculous waste of time. It's like taking birth control when you're 7 1/2 months pregnant. I got news for ya honey, the babies coming, so ya better get the nursery ready. In 1776 there was no running water or electricity. People didn't normally live past their 40's. You might as well go back to 1500BC and try to apply the principles that were in place back then to our present predicament. Why not? It had to have been more pure then, right?
It's fascinating that we want, even expect, huge changes to take place in certain areas of our lives, but not others. For instance, we all get excited when the latest gadget is unleashed, and we expect science, medicine, and things like the automotive industry to make steady strides towards making us more informed, connected, healthier, and safer; but when it starts getting personal, we get all upset about our loss of rights and privacy. Then we complain about it on Facebook! We're all are on the same wild ride that just continues to accelerate and gain momentum, no one has a clue what the hell is going on, and the past doesn't hold this magical answer. We deal with issues everyday that would send Thomas Jefferson drooling, to the psych ward. Does Sarah Palin not grasp the fact that our founding Fathers would be completely creeped out and appalled by her?
Can we stop with all the nostalgia and just allow human evolution to do what it's going to do please? We've been fighting it for millenniums and all that has done for us is slow down the inevitable. You're standing in the way of progress.
I love the idea of America, I love the Constitution, and what we've always publicly stood for; but I'm no fool. My entire life I have lived in a world that couldn't have been in a George Washington mushroom trip. Can't these people who someone elects to represent us, understand that there is no such thing as turning back the hands of time? As they commiserate on their iPhones and Twitter pages about the loss of American liberties, can't they see that those very actions are part of the reason why we're going full speed ahead into a place that none of us has ever been, and we'll only know how to deal with it when we get there? We need to relearn everything. Start at the very bottom, the foundation, and slowly reassess it all. Of course we hold on to immovable truths, they're immovable, but we need to become a new nation, a true democracy, if we are going to continue as the United States of America. I know, your ego won't allow you to envision a world without US influence, but take a look at Rome, who's system of government ours is based, how much influence are they offering the world right now?
I say this all the time, but I'll say it again, I don't even pretend for a moment that I have the answers. I believe it's my job to ask the questions. I have come to grips with the fact that I am truly insignificant on my own. I can influence a life here and there, but as an individual, life will continue undeterred if I die today, that's just fact. Sure, people would cry, and mourn for a bit, but it happens to millions of people every single day. We're really no big deal. But...if we can start asking questions, and reexamine those things we learned as children, those things that were told to us at an early age, by people we trusted; if we can except that we were immature, and impressionable then, and we grabbed a hold of these powerful theories, and ideas when we really didn't know any better. Maybe a new way of thinking can eventually begin to germinate.
Now we are in the middle of life, and it's a trip, and we're just trying to make the best decisions that propel us forward. I believe it's vital that we all stop and just rethink it all. Like a child, you've been told all your life that this particular religious doctrine, or political system, or style of music, or whatever, is the one, the answer, and all the rest are either false or inferior? Do you really know what you believe? Have you truly examined all the other various paths or methods that don't look like yours. If you haven't, you can't possible KNOW, you can only think, or assume, or guess. I have found that there is a real confidence in intentionally relearning all you think you know, I admit I know nothing but am willing to learn everything, thus creating, a new, improved, more mature, and experienced version of me. In emptying all of the rhetoric, and opinion that was delivered as fact, and relearning everything, I am becoming the real Jason. We all have a personal responsibility to evolve as people. It's so easy to just be who you're "supposed" to be, to wear the label your given by your particular society, but one of the keys of life is to be constantly changing and shifting. Ever adapting to our world which refuses to slow down for your outdated philosophies.
Are you satisfied with what you know? Does what you've been taught answer those questions you've been conditioned to bury deep within? Are you taking on new challenges, learning new things, experiencing fresh and interesting things? I think in this modern era, many people are beginning to rely on technology to do all of the evolving, and kind of resting in this stagnant place personally. That is a trap. It's so sad to encounter a grown adult who has stopped learning and exploring life. They are beyond boring, they bring nothing new to the table, the offer no inspiration, no relevance. There it is! The word of the day! If I can sum this whole meandering rant up, it would all be in that one word...Relevance. That's what's missing. People who have the ability to steer the ship, so to speak, for the next who knows how many years, are attempting, to reintroduce a horse and buggy mindset into a culture that can't believe we don't have flying cars yet. Stop it. No ones asking you to let go of your traditions, or beliefs. We're just asking that you let those of us who aren't afraid to admit that we don't know shit, the space to try to figure it out. Is the future scary? Yeah kinda, but the futures always been scary. Then it becomes the norm, and eventaully, the past. Accept it. This is but a brief, fleeting, moment in time, no big deal. Thanks.
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