Change is Good

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Lindsay Bradbury: "Change is good...only if you are ready."


I tend to believe that change is generally good, even if you're not so ready for it. But what makes us ready, anyway? Careful preparation and weeks of planning? Lists all checked off? I suppose it depends on what it is we are changing.

If we are changing the place we live, often times weeks of planning is a pretty good idea. But what about the woman who takes her child and leaves in the middle of the night because he would kill her otherwise? It's definitely a good change, but not necessarily one that has taken a lot of planning.

If we are changing our job, looking for a new one first is definitely a good idea. But what about the man who gets laid off without notice? Might he find that in the weeks to come, his circumstances changed for the better? That he learned more about his children, more about himself, more about how to survive?

If we are changing our relationship, careful talks and willingness are for sure crucial. But what about the woman who goes out on a limb and says, "I love you" before he said it? Will it end the relationship, or make it stronger? Whichever change should happen, is likely for the best, don't you agree?

If we are changing the paint on our livingroom wall, the sheets on our bed, the kind of socks we wear, the thoughts in our head... if we are changing the lightbulbs to "green" ones, the tires on the car, the way we look, or the way we feel... isn't it probably true that on some level we are ready, already? Without the lists, the careful planning, the weeks of preparation? When things happen sometimes, forcing us to change, isn't it generally the only time it could have changed us?

The adaptability of a human being never ceases to amaze me. Whether we think we're ready for it or not, we change, we grow, we learn, we live, and we love.