One of the irrefutable laws of life is: “Everything is constantly changing.” Everything other than this law is changing. Knowing this law gives you courage when sorrow follows happiness and saves you from being too excited when happiness follows sorrow (and thus does not fuel the ego).
The moment there is change in life we become worried. Instead of finding the reason behind the change, we tend to blame others. There are four areas of change in life due to which one worries. Know how these areas of change can become the cause of worry and unhappiness:
Changes in profession (work)The moment you are out of college, you find something to do. Either you work for someone or work for yourself (business or self employed profession). A day comes when everything is going smoothly. You are very much settled. Suddenly there is a change. You are either transferred to another department, posted to another city or given additional responsibilities or maybe even sacked from your job. There is change in what you were doing comfortably so far. If you are running a business, cyclical changes affect you and what follows is worry. The same business or profession that once used to bring immense joy is now a cause of immense worry.
Another example could be that of recession in the economy. Factories closing down, businesses being shut down, workers being laid off are some of the consequences of recession. In such a scenario, every employee constantly worries about whether he will be sacked from his job. Every employer is worried about keeping his business afloat. Not only do employees and businessmen worry, they pass on their worries to their wives and children. They pass their worries on to their friends who in turn now start worrying about their jobs. Their wives and children start worrying… In this way the whole society, the whole nation gets permeated with worry and negative thoughts.
Changes in individualsThe second area is change in individuals. This encompasses changes in relatives, changes in friends, etc. Your friends or relatives may change. They may leave you. They may be transferred to another city or they may even die. Some people cannot bear such changes. Some are completely unable to cope up with such changes to the extent that they become mental wrecks.
There are others who see someone near and dear change their behaviour. They hate the change. Lifelong they bear a grudge because of the change in behaviour. Thus, refusal to accept change leads to resentment. Just because the law of change has not been understood, resentful individuals suffer a lot. The consequence is that a self-created aura of unhappiness, fear, hatred, melancholy and anger constantly surrounds such individuals. All these are second cousins of worry and invite worry to join the party.
Changes in the environmentChanges in the environment may lead to health changes or lifestyle changes. Some cannot adapt to these changes. They lament about their sickness. They convince themselves with a lie that someone else is responsible for the change. They feel secure temporarily because of this lie. What they don’t realize is that this self-deception ultimately leads to worry.
Changes in objectsObjects change. Some individuals are very much attached to objects. They always fear that the object of their attachment may break, may get spoilt, may get lost or may get stolen. But things change. That is the law of change. Such individuals worry about this inevitable change.
Change your understanding and keep the changeTo tackle all the above four areas of change, all you have to do is to understand the law of change: “Everything changes other than change.” Understand that when something changes, you get something new – new friends, new relations, new jobs, new businesses, new things... If you truly understand this, then change becomes something to celebrate than to worry about. You will thank change since something new has been created in your life.
The main cause of worry during change is that people pass a judgment about the change. They conjure up images about the consequences of change. It is best to avoid judgment or imagination before the change transpires. When you look at change with patience and courage, all that you had conjured up proves to be wrong. Collect all the information you can before conjuring up something or deciding to do something about the change. Once all the information has been gathered and you see the complete picture, then every change will be acceptable and the change will turn out to be just right for you.
If you have understood the law of change, then you will always be prepared for change. You will constantly strive to seek newer avenues in life. You will see change as something very beautiful and something you are already prepared for.
When A Glass BreaksWhen a glass of milk falls down and breaks and there are glass pieces on the floor, there are ways to react…
Some ask, ”Who kept the glass on the table?” Some ask, “What was the cost of the milk that was wasted?”Some ask, ”Why are you always so careless?”
What is more important is to ask, ”What is to be done next?” What is needed is to only remove the glass pieces from the floor. That is all. Crying over spilt milk is merely another form of worry. Remove the glass and remove your worry.