Always Changing
Please excuse me if I’m a little pensive today. Mark is leaving， and I’m feeling kind of sad.
You probably don’t know Mark， but you might be lucky enough to know someone just like him. He’s been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years， combining exemplary professional skills with a sweet nature and gentle disposition. He’s never been all that interested in getting credit for the terrific work he does. He just wants to do his job， and to do it superbly well.
And now he’s moving on to an exciting new professional opportunity. It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime， and we’re genuinely， sincerely pleased for him. But that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.
Life has a way of throwing these curve balls at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person， a place or a situation， something comes along to alter the recipe. A terrific neighbor moves away. A child in the family graduates. Another child finds new love and loyalties through marriage. The family’s principal breadwinner is laid off.
Our ability to cope with change and disruption determines， to a great degree， our peace， happiness and contentment in life.
But how do we do that？ Philosophers have considered the question for centuries， and their responses have been varied. According to the author of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes， comfort can be found in remembering that “to every thing there is a season， and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. Kahlil Gibran urged his listeners to “let today embrace the past with remembrance， and the future with longing”.
A friend of mine who works for the government is fond of reminding his fellow bureaucrats that “survivability depends upon adaptability”. And then there’s Chris， the California surf-rat， who once told me that the answer to life’s problems can be summed up in four words： “Go with the flow.”