Things do not change; we change.
Henry David
Thoreau
When
we say that everything has changed, it really hasn’t, our position in
everything changes so we see a new viewpoint. It is not everything else that
has changed only us, as humans and as individual. For instance even when we
consider that technology changes, it is more that we just created new things.
It’s not that things have changed its just that our ability to make, interact
and use things has improved. It is our ability to affect the world not the
world itself that has changed
Nature
does change it is true but it changes so very slowly that it is not the thing
that affect our life. While a change in weather may affect our lives for a day,
we as humans change and change other things. So the quote is not entirely true
but for humanity’s ideas and uses it is us that changes and needed to change,
ourselves and our environment. A tsunami may change a town but humans can
rebuild that town and than give it even more buildings and even more technology
that wasn’t there before. Nature may wield the force of waves but we wield the
force of change
Another
thing that is considered to change is life. We can say that our lives (as a
thing) has changed since it appears that large differences between our past and
our present have occurred, however it is for all intents and purposes you and
who have changed, changing your position and your viewpoint. With the change
for instance such as moving to a new town it involves not a change of ones
environment, it is infact a change in oneself place in an environment, a change
in self not a change in everything else.
I would like to start off by saying the delta-T was very clever. I completely agree with the quote as well as your point of view. What I think is that the reason people say life changes, or things change, is because we are constantly, and subconsciously, looking for a scapegoat. That things happen to us, not because of us. It is the most innocent form of people avoiding responsibility. The realization that change is not spontaneous but provoked is what I think Thoreau is explaining in his quote.
ReplyDeleteHumans indeed possess the immense power to change. However, this power must be used wisely, for it can easily be manipulated (in terms of being used for the better vs. the worst). I agree that change cannot be expected to simply appear over time. In order to generate a positive outcome for the lives of everyone, humans must take action themselves and work together.
ReplyDeleteHumanity and a whole has a large burden on it's shoulders, we influence literally everything and the most minute of decisions can have an adverse effect on a monumental scale. It's said that the flap of a butterflies' wings can influence weather across the globe, this is a great analogy for the human thought processes; we can be ignorant with our choices and royally screw up our own kind or make decisions that better humanity as a whole. The power of change can be compared to the burden of Atlas, and as you know, that is a cumbersome task, and in the end the power to make wise choices is still yet another choice.
ReplyDeletei love the examples that you used to help you explain exactly what type of change, positive or negative, you were talking about. however, i feel like you really didn't take a stance on the topic until the last paragraph.
ReplyDelete