| Does Anyone Know What s Going on Here?"Change is inevitable, except from vending machines." ANONYMOUSMY FATHER USED TO TELL ME, "YOU DON T TAKEkindly to change." And even though my life has had its share ofadventures and new directions, I ve come to realize that he wasright. I ve often resisted change and had trouble letting go of whatwas familiar, comfortable and secure. Here s a simple example. In 1984 my wife and I moved from a condominium to our firsthouse. I was faced with many new pleasures that apartmentdwellers don t have to bother with, like shoveling snow and cut-ting grass. I decided to use a manual lawn mower, because it waswhat I was used to--and I was a little intimidated by the motor-ized ones, having seen numerous finger injuries over the years.Besides, its pleasant, rhythmic sound reminded me of spring. I dalso be making an environmental statement (no noise or air pol -lution from our house)! Things went well for a while.., until thegrass got thicker in July... until the first time I had to mow after arain, when the grass was still wet.., and until I discovered thatpushing the mower uphill wasn t nearly as pleasant as pushing itdownhill. The second year, my neighbor smiled over the fence oneday and said to his son, "C mere, Matt, here s a history lesson foryou! This is how people used to cut the grass. Take a good look.You ll never see anything like it again." We both laughed, but itwas one of those moments of clarity. I finally acknowledged I wasmaking the job harder than it needed to be, given the technologyso readily available. That afternoon I visited my local hardwarestore (to make the leap from the fifties into the eighties) and heardmyself thinking, "You see, Dad, I m not afraid of change!" |
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