Keep the Change

There are all sorts of things associated with change--money, weather, culture, thinking, mood, marital status, seasons of life. The common element shared by all kinds of change is that, for the most part, we don't want it. We would rather life stay just like it is, thank you very much. Keep the change.

It's been like that for a long time. Just ask Columbus, the guy who was supposed to discover America only it was the Bahamas, (which is where I would like to be right now), or the Republicans(can't say Party, they're not in the mood for that at the moment), or the parent of a teenager with a new learner's permit.

We just don't like change. It's not comfortable. And the most important thing in life is comfort. Right?

But change is required for personal and societal growth. We must be willing to give away something good(or bad) in order to receive something better. Can you imagine what life would be like if we had said "no thanks" to Johannes Gutenberg's printing press, Thomas Edison's electricity, John Harrington's flush toilet, or Al Gore's internet?

There is a LOT of change swirling around our blue marble of a planet right now, not the least of which is in the realm of spirituality. Phyllis Tickle(author, scholar, and religion editor for Publisher's Weekly) has outlined some of that, as well as a lot of church history in a presentation entitled "The New Rose". The video is about 41 minutes long, but worth every minute. The ideas she offers in the realm of society and religion are important to ponder, whether you agree with her or not.

It all reminds me of an old Girl Scout song we used to sing, "make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold." We need both silver and gold to get to the Bahamas. (And a boat. A nice BIG boat.)

I'd better keep the change.