" The only thing constant is change " . . . What does that phrase mean ?

Question

I'm doing well, yet have gone through many changes in past year . . . Moved from house to nice townhouse / condo, celebrated my 50th birthday, have teen kids and began working again after being at home mom for 20 yrs., shared custody with my kids shifted with my former husband. Lots of changes...and, while uncomfortable at times, am growing forward through all well.

A dear friend of mine made the statement " The only thing constant is change ". She is a positive minded friend, vibrant woman of a dear heart . . . Yet, that phrase sounds a bit ' negative ' to me.

Is the phrase noted above positive or more negative. What is the positive and / or negative aspects to it ?

I realize that change does occur in life. . . That's how people move forward and grow. Yet, some things are fine as they are and you don't wish for that change to occur . . . Family, love, things in life working well . . .

Would appreciate insight.
.

" Leslie M " . . . So I am in ' bloom '...that is my change. And to expect that a bloom eventually has it's cycle, it returns to the soil and cycles, blooms, and grows further. I like that. Thanks for that enlightened viewpoint. I'm in bloom, growing . . .Yet, change will happen. Thanks for insight.

Appreciating all insight. Especially " Saint-Toa" and " Blaze-Girl"...what you shared helps. Thanks much.

" Tu-Nga " . . . " Learn and practice it to conduct an eternally happy life ". Sound, insighful thoughts. I am also very spiritual and what you shared blends in well with what others shared here. Warm thanks.

Answer 1

It is positive and negative. She is telling you that one thing you can always be sure of is that things will always change, or not stay the same.

Positive things happen and so does negative. That's the way life is. Like a seed buried beneath the dirt, it gets watered, and finally sprouts up out of the dirt, it grows from a tiny seed into a beautiful flower and this is the time all is perfect, if only it could stay in bloom forever, but change must and will continue and the flower will soon wilt and return to the dirt that first covered it.

So it seems that you are in bloom, enjoy and make the best of it, you have handled change well.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

I am not sure if the statement is meant to be positive or negative either one. Maybe it means that one thing we can be sure of is that things will change from day to day sometimes for the best and sometimes some changes are difficult to live with. Your friend may have gone through many changes herself and is just speaking about it from her experience.I am glad you are doing well with all these new changes. I wish you well. You still have that sharing experience with your family it has only changed. We do get some changes that we never even wanted but we just have to be strong and go on. I have had many changes that i never expected-just imagine i used to be bored no matter how hard i tried not to be. Now i spend most of my time alone but i have adjusted. Pets help. I will be 60 in September.

Answer 3

True, but if you consider conservatism, it's purpose is to conserve what you have. This is a wise course to take, and while changing times require changing policy it's always a good idea to hold on to what you have. It's not necessarily unprogressive, because even staunch right wing conservatives would have to deal with impending changes; they would just attempt to do so in a manner that preserves the status quo. Liberals and progressives are quite different. Liberals take a liberal stance on policy, which if you ask me is quite unguided and ignorant. They will do what the people want, regardless of how uneducated it really is. A progressive specifically seeks progress through policy.

Answer 4

EDITED

Change is perennial. It is almost mundane, a routine thing. That is why some people say that the more we change, the more we are the same.

Changes you talk about are not really the change we talk of here. Think of the fact that even if it was 2207 A. D., you could have asked the same question on the same websites, may be quoting a completely different set of 'changes'. But that is the paradox.

The question survives, and so does the inevitability of change and the undercurrents of stability its constancy provides.

More over, one's perception of change depends on the height from which he/she notices something. I mean to say that it is dependent on one's level of abstracting things. While one may see events in his/her life as changes, others may call it something that every person experiences.

As Leslie M mentioned, you are on a bloom. May be that is true. You may accord to each event in your life a special status, something that 'changed' your life forever, but for me it is of no interest (don't mind the language pls, its here to make a point). Any changes in your life or mine (according to our respective perspectives) are important to us but irrelevant to many.

Importance and Irrelevance are based a huge deal on distances among people, or 'change' observing entities. But those distance keeps on changing their lengths. I mean that some fifty years back we might not have been able to interact in the way we are currently. The medium has changed.

But is it a change that in any way lends support to any side of our debate? NO. You could have chosen any medium to put up this question and got similar reviews. That is constant and will always be.

Basic Human Nature hardly changes. Habits, cultures, and lifestyles might. It is the basicity and intransigence of change we need to stress on, not its presence.

Answer 5

It seems that I have nothing new to add to your experience and knowledge about change. This is just some feelings about its positive and negative aspects.
Physically, all things constantly change according to natural laws: birth, growth, deterioration, death; spring, summer, autumn, winter; babyhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood...They are both negative and positive depending on the orientation of man. If we attain knowledge and guide them properly, they are positive.
A seed well selected, sown on a well prepared soil, nurtured with enough water, light, fertilizer...will bear good flower and fruit. Otherwise, it may not grow into a plant or die before fruition.
Spiritually, nothing changes. The above conditions are only outer phenomena; the essence of matter and spirit ramain the same from eternity to eternity; we can do nothing to make addition or reduction to them.
The love of God to God, of God to man, of man to God and of man to man is eternally unchanged. Human beings of any generations can learn and practice it to conduct an eternally happy life.

Answer 6

It means that people can change in an instant.
It means that no matter how much goodness someone would consider themself to have they are often deluding themselves and could come up with an act that would shame themselves if they really had the decency to think about their actions.
Maybe your friend had some insight and was trying to point something out.
Perhaps she was trying to point out that a person who really considered themselves to be growing forward, and wasn't just paying it lip service, would have the courage to consider the acts they have commited and not just take on board things they would want to hear.
Think about the light you would want your friend to see you in.

Answer 7

Something I read in a Buddhist book and apply to my thinking is that 'all things are temporary'. I understand how this idea might seem negative, but it's really a universal truth and it's better to accept and work with it. The nature of reality, all material, thought, emotions, tides of various kinds, gravity itself, time, the sun's own 'output', everything is in a state of contant change and readjustment. 'All things are temporary', this includes suffering, pleasures, bad situations, joyous occations, life and even death are all temporary situations. This might sound negative because it does seem to say that not even things we like will last, but nothing can improve and become better without change. The change gives us hope that our troubles will one day be overcome and gives hope that a brighter future can be attained someday. Death and rebirth. I hope this helps you some.

Answer 8

I think she is trying to reassure you that change is a natural and expected thing. Even Family I didn't want mine to change either but then my grandson arrived. Change is good.

Answer 9

i would have to agree with you change is scary,