Change

In the world there is constant change.  In fact, the only constant is change.  Everything changes from the greatest governments to the smallest micro-environments.  People change, feelings change, needs change, traditions change, people die, accidents and illness happen, disasters happen; indeed all around us is constant change outside of our control.

People don't like change.  Homeostasis is the desired effect in all aspects of our lives from the temperature to events.  Comfort comes from sameness.  Traditions make us think things are the same, and make us think we are in control of these changes.  However, reality can hit hard when things happen to us over which we have no control.  Change comes, wanted or unwanted.  Mostly it's unwanted, from the day-to-day living, to the lifetime events.

Children don't want to grow up.

We don't want to go to bed at night, we want to stay up.  But then --

We don't want to get up in the morning, we want to stay in bed.

We don't want to go out in the cold, we want to stay warm.

We don't want to go to work or school, we want to stay home.

We don't want to move to a new house, we want to stay put.

We don't want our loved ones to leave, we want them to stay nearby.

We don't want to change our relationships, we want them to continue.

We don't want anyone to die, we want them to live forever.

We don't want to try new things, we want to stay with the old ones.

We don't want to change our traditions, we want to stay with the old and comfortable ones.

We don't want to change our ideas, we want them to be true -- always.

Seeking comfort in change

Our body temperature is fairly constant so we like the environment around us to be a constant temperature.  We use lots of energy to keep all our homes and buildings at a stable temperature.  We go from our air-conditioned homes to our air-conditioned cars to our air-conditioned offices and back again, spending only brief moments in the uncomfortable heat outside.

Studies with stress show that change produces more stress hormones; the bigger the change, the more the stress.  One way to bring these hormones down and prevent illness is by turning to tradition.  Going back to the old ways makes us feel that things stay the same.  This may be why when people are stressed by change, they revert to old habits for comfort.  Repetitive chanting or reciting works as well.  We can find comfort in times of change by pretending things are the same.

Homeostasis prevents growth

The "wicked traditions of our fathers" keep us from growing.  As noted above, we use a tremendous amount of energy to keep things the same.  We burn fuel to keep our physical environment stable.  We also use our spiritual energy trying to control our thoughts and ideas.  Because we grow up with a certain way of doing things we assume it is correct.  Often these are things we have tried that work.  For example, we have a culture of using drugs to keep us feeling good.  When we don't feel good we assume there is a drug to bring us back to "normal."  This is taught by our whole society.  As Voltaire said:  "The difference between man and the animals is man's desire to take pills."  He must have tried to give an animal a pill.  But drugs, like all traditions, only briefly make us feel better; they can't hold back the change forever.

A great analogy is found in our society's billion-dollar "fountain-of-youth" industry.  We spend so much time and energy trying to avoid getting old that we never grow up.  Our media worships youth with its looks and strengths.  We want to be "forever young" and supple, strong, nimble and agile.  We want to be able to compete with the children for attention and accolades.  We want to be attractive to others.  We want to avoid the responsibilities of adulthood and find freedom in rebellion.  Again, like all efforts to avoid change, we can only hold it off for so long, even with all of our efforts.  It's only pretending.

When a person with a chronic illness comes into my office, one of the first things I tell them is: "If nothing changes, then nothing is going to change."  This may sound like stating the obvious, but I have found the resistance to change as the primary obstacle to health.  People want to continue the habits they are comfortable with that caused their illness in the first place.  When diabetes was discovered in one man he said, "I'm not giving up my pint of ice cream every night!"  Obese people tell me they want to lose weight without changing their diet.  Some even try drugs and surgery rather than change their habits.  They are still children, driven by their appetites.  They want homeostasis, but it prevents them from becoming mature.

Change produces growth

In order to grow and improve there must be change.  Without change there is no growth in any way -- not physically, spiritually, mentally, or emotionally.

Changes in our physical environment help us to grow.  Children automatically eat more when they are growing, and less when they don't.  Eating a variety of foods helps us to get the nutrients we need.  Moreover, it has been shown that even going without food for a time benefits the body in many ways.  The body is made for feast and famine.  We should not eat the same foods every day.  We should not even eat every day.  We should not do the same activities every day.  We need times of rest as well as times of hard work.  By constantly changing our activities we can grow and improve throughout our lives.

Spiritual growth requires change as well.  In the Scriptures we read how many of the prophets exhibited this change, having to leave their world and travel to a distant "Promised Land."  The journey is mostly long and arduous.  Even arrival in the "Promised Land" didn't bring only peace and prosperity.  The chosen people often experienced moral decay, change, war, and destruction intermingled with times of prosperity.  The spiritual cycle is well-established: the humble recognize their dependence on God and they turn to Him; He then blesses them with prosperity; they then put their trust in their possessions and forget God, causing them to be cursed; they wallow in misery until they are humbled sufficiently to recognize their dependence on God; and the cycle starts again.  These times of feast and famine help people to remember what is really important.

Finding purpose in change

As changes happen in our lives we have the option of trying to oppose them, or to accept them.  We have control over what we think, say, do, eat and so forth, but nothing else.  When we accept responsibility for the things we control, and at the same time accept that things will change over which we have no control we can begin to have a stress-free life.  We don't have to try to pretend things are the same, we can embrace change and still have peace.

The way we do this is by changing our whole purpose.  As children our purpose is homeostasis -- to get our needs met.  However, as adults we can take responsibility for our own growth and development.  As children we were forced to do things we didn't want to do "for our own good."  As adults we can seek learning and growth for the same reason.  Every change that happens to us is an opportunity to grow.  Even a diagnosis of diabetes is an opportunity to gain control of our habits.  Natural disasters are opportunities to help others and grow closer to them.  The death of a loved-one is an opportunity to love others that we wouldn't have otherwise known.  Freud called this "sublimation."  A great example I know is Gloria, who has been a widow for a year.  She found that there were no resources for widowhood.  There are things people need to know when they lose a spouse -- legal issues, financial issues, marriage, dating and many others.  She had nowhere to turn so she started a "school for widows and widowers."  She has appointed experts in many fields who can provide information and services to those who are widowed, and by doing so has embraced the change in her life and grown in power and ability to help others.  The loss of a loved-one turned into the love of many.

The ultimate homeostasis

There is only one possible foundation that never changes.  Jesus Christ is called "the Rock" because He will never change.  "His arm is stretched out still," all the day long.  There is no power that can move Him, or keep us from His love.  He will never let us down.  His promises are sure.  This is absolute and firm, a "firm foundation" of truth.  All our ways of providing homeostasis are temporary or pretend.  This is the real thing.  When we seek the Lord, we are on a firm foundation from which we cannot fall.  The winds will howl around us, the rain will beat down upon us, and the fiery darts of the adversary will prick us, change and decay will surround us, but we will not be moved -- because He isn't.

Paradoxically, we find Him through embracing change and growing up.  The word in the Scriptures is "repentance."  To repent is to change.  Thus, ironically, as we are trying to stay the same, we are avoiding the very thing we desire and seek.  To seek stability, we need to embrace change in ourselves.  There is a prayer that goes:  "Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  We can only change ourselves, our minds and hearts, our thoughts, words and deeds -- there is wisdom!