What Seems So Far Away

 Change is always on the horizon, even when it advances slowly. Hopes and dreams of generations are altered by the changes behind them, their dreams shaped by what can be as they discard what has been. It has been true since time began. Yet when the dreams are realized it is startling, leaving us wondering what happened to the things we used to know and trust as we try to adjust to what has become in our worlds.

We are caught in the throes of this now as we exist in a world where the rules have changed so drastically many don't know what is expected in their world. Chaos ensues when our landscape is dramatically altered. The forces of human nature clash and can even result in violence, leaving the masses wondering if things can ever be 'normal' again. We can take heart in the fact that this is a continuing process that takes place on a regular basis. A new norm is coming; it will arrive when the chaos dies away and a balancing of what was and what can be tolerated for the many rather than the few is settled on. It seems to arrive in 20 year cycles. Witness the shock of the roaring twenties, forties and the surety that our world was in ruins in the sixties. On and on it goes, every twenty years seems to be a realization of what has been brewing. We are always headed for somewhere we've never been.

How do we arrive at the balancing act that allows society to shift gears and embrace a new normal? A spontaneous remission occurs as we reach back to protect that which has always been important to us, the nonnegotiable ideals to merge them with what is changing in our world. What was stunning to us becomes softened and able to meld into a new and acceptable reality. We gain this steadying influence from our history that provides an understanding of who we are and why it is important to protect our moral foundation. As it merges with the wonder and fearlessness that is instilled in human nature we are able to find the best in what can be changed while holding onto the things that allow us to stand strong.

Thomas Jefferson reminded us of this when he said "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion... " and "The tree of liberty must be refreshed... " Thankfully it no longer requires bloodshed to do so. We have history now, to remind us of what is worth keeping and what we can allow to change in an ever-changing world.

Keep the faith, what you don't understand today will be melded and crafted into something tolerable tomorrow. This is human nature at its best, always striving to reach loftier goals while retaining a firm foundation.