Weaving Tapestries, Painting Pictures, Dreaming Dreams

The fact that change is inevitable, is a constant in our world. There are changes that we bring about and changes that happens over which we have no control. There are changes we look forward to like going to university, falling in love, getting a job, moving out, moving on in life, getting married, having children. There are also changes we fear; illnesses, empty nests, loss of livelihood or wealth, divorce, death, etc. Once certain changes have happened we cannot go back to being who we were. Change is a great teacher and irrespective of being good or bad, it always teaches us life’s important lessons and helps us to develop, grow and mature some more.

Different people react to change differently. There are those who are so afraid of it that they will live a life of discomfort or penury rather than risk taking a decision that will change their lives. However wretched their circumstances, they will trudge and toil through life rather than find an alternative that might give them a better existence. They fear that in trying to better their lives they may end up losing what little they have. The fear shackles them to their daily grind. We see them each day walking to work, taking buses, trains, the metro or the underground. Tied to the routine and tedium of life, counting pennies, scrimping, saving, getting old with worries before their time but never willing to take a chance.

Then there are those whose unspoken motto is ‘Carpe Diem’. They boldly seize the day, they are ready to chase their dreams to the ends of the Earth. These are two kinds of people. There are those who through history have travelled to cities or distant lands in search of their livelihood and a better life. Tradesmen, artisans, poets, minstrels, soldiers, tradesmen, etc, come under this category, as do students. In today’s times too they exist; people who travel to cities or to other countries, settle there, take root and flourish on foreign soil. A time comes when they have found financial security and a decent standard of living they become so comfortable with their circumstances that they do not wish to change a thing. Sometimes though, change comes to them in unexpected ways as global policies and politics cannot always be predicted.

There are others though, others who changed not only their own lives but also made sure that the entire world changed due to their exploits. These are the restless, the seekers, the dreamers; sailors charting unknown seas, the adventurers and explorers because of whom, we know all that we know of the world today, scientists and researchers, those who are always on a quest, the great travellers and historians. They are found even today, climbing mountains, plumbing ocean depths, fathoming the mysteries of the universe, making great scientific and medical discoveries, discovering flora and fauna and new environments, digging up secrets and the treasures of the past, finding sustainable ways for the human race to live.

Then their are those who brought change because of their greed and lust for power and wealth. The warmongerers and conquerors whose vicious brutalities have left scars throughout the history of the world, scars so deep that they cannot be erased. These too exist today, not just those who wreak violence on the world by war and terror but also captains of industry and politicians who for their own selfish reasons of making profits, wreak havoc on the environment, many times causing irreparable damage to lives and health.

to be continued…….