same thing

 You know I'm thinking if your happiness depends on changes, you ain't never going to be happy. I think consistency brings happiness. Knowing what to expect is a rather comforting thing. It is that way with your daily routine and that way with the people you surround yourself with. You may let others in your circle only to find out they just are unsteady. Those folks I just let move down the road. I may run into them again but I might not. Thing is, it doesn't make a difference. And that is my point here, don't just make a change, make a difference. Just making changes, going along with the flow so to speak, isn't necessarily making a difference. It may indeed usher in some changes but that doesn't mean they're good ones. Yes, I believe that not all changes are for the better. I really am a stay the course sorta guy. Easy to figure me out if you know me. You can also count on me to respond in pretty much the same way every time. Never one for fad or fashion I prefer tried and true.

 The trend I'm seeing that I find troubling is this propensity to change everything. In doing so we are removing the norms, the things that comfort us and we are seeing the results of this daily. We changed the way we raise our children. Mom isn't home taking care of the children, families are often just a mis-match of parents, siblings, half-siblings, relatives and whoever. We send our children to structured " activities " these days. Everyone belongs to the club and everyone gets the prize. Children are free to call parents by their given names, teachers are not respected, authority in general is not respected, and fighting against authority is encouraged. It's all about rights, not responsibilities.

Indeed we are changing our entire society to one where traditional morality is frowned upon. Now we are changing to an attitude of, whatever feels good , just do it. Break the law until the law is broken is a common stratagem these days. If you don't agree with the law keep violating that law until it becomes too costly to enforce and then legalize whatever it is. That's how we make changes these days. Change isn't based on needs, change is based on wants.

 You could say this has been true of every generation and you wouldn't be wrong. It is a surprising thing to those of us that attain seniority. Is it a questioning of our methods that causes this concern ? Yes I believe that it is and that is a normal part of the process. We do have years of experience to draw upon. The only issue is there are those in the senior bracket that haven't learned a thing. They are the ones that concentrated on changing everything instead of concentrating on what was. Many will tell you they were being proactive. Fact is they should have been reactive. In short,  don't change things that are working and don't fix what ain't broke. They never saw what was right under their noses. 

 So today we are faced with all these changes. A good many of us are shaking our heads and wondering how this happened. Just how did we wind up where we are today ? We got here by wandering off course, making changes at every turn, until we lost our direction. That is my feeling anyway. It is my feeling that we don't need a change, we need a return. A return to common sense, a return to reality. Reality can be harsh, it can be unsettling and, gasp, it can be unfair. We need a return to structure. Standards need to set and standards recognized. No one knows the future that much is certain but that doesn't mean we should just guess either. It is this guessing that has gotten us to this point. Learn from the past, hold onto that knowledge and apply it. Just changing the answers doesn't change the questions. The questions have remained the same. Why are we here, what is our purpose and what should we do ? 

 I don't have the answers. I sure wish I did. I do know what has happened in the past. I know what results I can expect from certain actions. I also know that changing even the littlest thing can have a very profound effect further down the line. I don't think a change should be made with a hope that it is better later. Change has to be proven. And isn't that the dilemma we all face. The results don't always match the choices and changes we made. All that is left then is the assignment of blame or the acceptance of responsibilty. My thinking is it is the later that we need a lot more of. You can either accept the blame or accept the responsibilty. But then, aren't they the same thing ?