Cambiare

The word 'change' comes from the 12th century Anglo-French 'chaunge' which was used to signify a transaction, a recompense, a reciprocation of sorts. Likely used in merchant markets as it stems from the Latin cambiare, it now is more frequently used to remark about the act of becoming something different, dissimilar or event contradictory. I imagine a 12th century tradesman ignoring the complexities we now attribute to the word when "exchanging" a fine woven silk for a fair market value. And that's just it...it was a reciprocation...one thing exchanged for another of the same value. And yet, nowadays we think of change as one thing becoming something divergent, better, improved and of more value. That's simply not the case.

In our supposedly modern yet somehow lost society, we tend to correlate change with an upgrade type of transformation, a sometimes not so subtle evolution to what we presume by the law of human nature to be better, the 2.0 version, the faster and stronger model of what has worn out, what we have grown out of or what we have simply become bored with.

But change can also be something we think of as bartering with our souls...if I stop being stressed, I'll be happier...if I just don't talk about this, the 'this' will cease to exist...but as we all know any deal that sounds too good be true is just that.

Change cannot be encapsulated into something so simple, so plain with so few variables. It must be seen as a not-so-fine tuned mechanism with dozens of intricate and interworking parts that will ultimately skip a beat and need some reworking. Without change we would have no butterflies...trite but a reliable summation of the idea.

Many of us fear change whether out of a preconceived notion that what we consider normality is just fine and is a perfectly suitable environment in which to live out the rest of our days. Many fear change out of a custom or habit or comfort in the safety and security of what we know to be our everyday. Others fear change out of a nagging reminder of how sometimes change is caused by an upheaval and unpleasant tumult caused not by own doing or choice as it were. So how is it we can attribute positivity (such as an enhancement) and negativity (such as apprehension) to the exact same word or concept? Because we are after all humans who are more emotionally sophisticated than a six letter word that truly does not suffice in describing the phenomenon.

Change is good, they say. This is something we hear throughout our lives to soothe our worries, to ease our incessant concern with the unknown novelty of the future. And the fact of the matter is that this is true beyond our wildest imagination. Small changes seems simpler, easier to control perhaps so they are well within our reach of sustainability. Life altering changes cause commotion in our fight or flight reflex department and create concern that leads to overthinking. We go back and forth examining and reexamining the possible outcomes and their effects on us and others. All the while, never acting on our instinct, ignoring it almost, confusing it to the state of paranoia. Rational reasoning is an actual thing of course and certainly reliable but we like to overcomplicate life and script our very own soap opera life. For some, this drama, this contention and daily stress drives them, keeps them moving and I suppose encourages them to create change in their lives. More than likely that change is created for them, and not by them, much to their denial.

Maybe change is just a different version of ourselves, of our days, of our script. I prefer to look at life as one of those old choose-your-own-adventure books. You can read it over and over and have a different outcome, it is truly up to you. Change is exactly what we make out of it and can be dictated by our own intention as long as our actions precede those of change itself. So let's try something from here on out and not simply accept change but create it, don't conform to it but design it, let's not fear it but await it with outstretched arms and wide open eyes.