ADDICTION AND RECOVERY: CHANGE

LET’S TALK ABOUT…..CHANGE! As a nation, we are preparing for a huge change in leadership which will, consequently, trickle down to challenge each of our individual sensibilities. Like a pebble in a pond, the changes “on high” will influence what we choose to create in our own life.

Change is constant. How people react to the change is individual, and, ultimately, determines individual growth and creates understanding of the nation and the world.

People usually approach change in one of three ways:

1.      Fear

2.      Excitement

3.      Creatively

People that generally apprehensively approach life do so based on preconceived and/or learned fears. The Maartan “Philosophical Dictionary” explains that “Fear” is defined as “Expectation of something undesirable or painful.

“…fear is one of the great movers of mankind: Fear of pain, fear of failure, fear of what others may think or say, fear of seeming different from most, fear of failing to please the powerful, fear of God, fear of The Party….the list is endless….It would seem as if much that goes into the making of human society is based on human fears...and that just like most fears are mostly not realistic.”

“Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their peers, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.” Robert F. Kennedy

Then there are those of us that see change as a new adventure. Every morning we wake up excited to experience what the day will bring us. If the day doesn’t bring something fast enough, we find a way to create the excitement ourselves:

1.      Start a unique business

2.      Write a blog to inspire change

3.      Volunteer with an activist group

4.      Serve on community committees

5.      Always speak your truth from your heart

All five of these activities involve contributing to change.

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one person can do against the enormous array of the world's ills, misery, ignorance, and violence. Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. And in the total of all those acts will be written the history of a generation.”  Robert F. Kennedy

There are also those talented clever people that use their creativity through pose, satire, and visual arts to make creative change through individual interpretations.

Powerful creative change-makers include: fairy tales (Dr. Suess “The Bread and Butter Battle”), lyrics to music (Joan Baez “Where Have All The Flowers Gone), movies (Orson Wells “Citizen Kane”), novels (Robert Penn Warren “All The President’s Men”), art (Chamomile Tea Party “Vote Your Conscience”), TV (“House of Cards), theater (Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton”, and, of late, social media, particularly “Twitter”, have all been powerful change-makers.

And, let us recognize, never forget, and defend the most powerful creativity is as a result of free speech and free press.

“…each of us can work to change a small portion of events…” Robert Kennedy.

Glad we talked about this. Of course, it is just my opinion.

This column is reprinted from the Springfield Times (SpringfieldTimes.net) weekly column "Ask MAx". The Springfield Times is published weekly for Thursday delivery. Subscribe at 541-741-7368.

You can comment on this article and make suggestions for future columns: maxfabry@LifestyleChangesCounseling.com. Or, snail mail your topics to Lifestyle Changes, PO Box 1962, Eugene, OR  97440.