How many times have you heard the expression, "Change, it's inevitable"? Is it true, though? Is the word "inevitable" part of the definition of the word "change"? When I think of change, I do so in the context of regularity, routine. I have a routine, something I do either in the same way or at the same time every time, and then WHAM! the monkey wrench rears its head and in barges Mr. Change. Can routine stay forever? Or will there always be change? I think there will always be change. I think change has always been around. We change from the moment we're conceived all the way past the moment we die. Our bodies are constantly changing. So it is inevitable. Is God a God of Change? I see Him promote change. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Gen 1:1 And then He created light. And then He separated the water from the sky. And then dry land... Day after day, He created and changed, and added. But His word says that He does not change. “For I am the LORD, I do not change..." (Malachi 3:6) I am glad for that. He encourages me to change, to grow, to be Christ-like. To be like Him is the ultimate goal for me, and it's important for me that He doesn't change. So as long as I'm still this sinful, immature and selfish human, and I strive to be like my Jesus, change is inevitable.
So why this philosophical discussion on change? Well, maybe this post is not as philosophical as I would think, but more a platform to voice the ramblings in my head. I've been challenged with change this week. It's not comfortable right now. But like someone told me today, my goal is to be Christ-like, at work and in my personal life. I totally believe God is in control of my life. And the changes that occur, the opportunities that come my way must be viewed in the context of what God wants for me. If today's change will make me stronger to face tomorrow, then by all means, bring it on!
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I'm working my way back through your posts as I have not been here in quite a while. I always find them very provacative though and I'm always glad I stopped by.
For thousands of years the seat of being was held in out hearts. It was thought that the heart was where the primary self was held (though the thought was not particulalry expressed in exactly that manner). It is not unti relatively recent times that the self was moved to the head or brain. When most people speak of sense of self, they refer to their heads or their brains as the seat. Recently, however, more attention is being paid to the belly. THat's right; all of those times you "felt it in your gut" or had "gut reaction" or "butterflies in your stomach" there may have been more to it.
Researchers are looking into the chemistry of the abdominal cavity to see if there is a link between what we "know" or feel and what is actually happening in our bellies. It seems odd but somewhat intuitively correct as we have so many wives' tales and sayings related to our "guts" that there must be some truth to it all. Indeed, the latest health/workout craze is related to the "core" or the central part of our bodies which includes our abdominal and lower to mid back areas.
Allow me to digress b approaching the point from the obliques, or maybe the Greeks. Heraclitus is credited with the statement that one cannot step into the smae river twice, noting that the river changes (different water flows by) though it remains a river. Heraclitus believed in the One, a universe that always was and would always continue to be (though not in the Judeo-Christian sense) that was constantly changing but was never changed fundamentally. Later Greeks believed that things could not change if they existed because their very existence could not have come from nothing (Parmenides) therefore things that always existed could not have changed becasue they always were. Others came to believe that things exhibited multiple qualities (intrinsic and extrinsic) and various states (being and potential). Empedocles, Plato and Aristotle each refining the earlier's work and shaping our notion of change while probing the nature of our world as they could best determine a priori and post priori.
A direct line can be traced in Western thinking back to these early philosophers (philosophy itself being the precursor and co-conspirator to science). When we think about changes in materials we look at chemical compositions (one or several materials to another or others), mechanical effects (erosion and accretion), states (solid, liquid, gas), but we have adopted the notion of the preservation of mass and energy. The two may be converted but never destroyed. At the bottom of it all, things remain.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. The question becomes, what is at the core. What is the centre of everything? What drives change but always remains? Where is your core? Is it in the head, heart, gut, or is it something else that has always been and will always be?
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