Fighting Change

5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.   Mark 3 vs 5-6

It never fails to intrigue me. The way we fight something different that is in front of us. The reason I chose to show that scripture above  for a very specific reason.

Firstly the debate between the Pharisees and Jesus and then a direct display of the miracle happens in front of their eyes. The result….. exuberance and complete joy by all as they discover that God is in their midst…….

Nope, they plot to kill Jesus. How is that even remotely possible?

The status quo IMO is probably the most fought for thing in this world. More than anything. And once the masses pick up on it, there really is a mountain against the thought of change.

It happens on every level in life and scales to the largest entities. From the home, to school, to work, to life, to relationships, to companies, to empires, to movements, to cultures.

There are certain parts in my life that I really don’t want change in, and I fight it. There is a tendency in all of us as humans to want to revert to what we know all the time. Its an inbuilt mechanism designed to keep you where you are. Think about it. How often have you grown by doing and being involved with the same things and people.

When I was clubbing, guess what? Nothing more than the same thing ever occurred in my life. More drinking, more clubs and repeat. When I wanted to change, everyone around me could not grasp why. I am not saying it was easy or clear in my head at the time, but I needed to change and everything in me fought it. Granted I was in desperation mode  and it usually takes that level of desperation in me to want to change. I hang on for dear life to what I know, until I have to let it go.

We all do this. The question that I ask you today is where do you stand on change?

Now back to the actual point I was trying to get across. The Pharisees were “keepers of the truth”. Their lives revolved around the scriptures and maintaining the standards of truth. Yet, there was Jesus, the Truth Himself. And they plot to kill him because He did not fit their plans and ideas.

I don’t know how that is possible to reason. I know I do that too in life, but it really still mystifies me. I think it boils down to the fact that we just do not like to change, especially if it means it involves ourselves. I know its very easy to find an audience that identifies with your view point. Actually its easy to fill a stadium with people that agree with you on whatever side you find yourself on. But do you plot against change in your life?

When someone different or something different comes along your path, do you judge it according to all you already know?

Or are you open to the possibility that this might be the truth in front of you, trying to revolutionize your life and mind?

I am not asking you to hug and embrace change for change sake. But I ask that you at least consider that something different will definitely bring a different outcome to what is already happening in life.

Now yes you might lose some things here. And I think that is really what the Pharisees were working against. They feared that they would lose what they had right then. And of course yes you could let go of your power and control and never have it ever again, you might lose that person and never find another one. (you can clearly see I have been through this way too many times ha ha ha)

I guess I am asking you to think a but deeper and maybe not accept the level of comfort you have now. Also take a look around, the things that we fighting…… The people in our lives….. The company you are at, your business, your company you keep, the church you are at…..

I know change is hard, and life is tough. Maybe you are the agent of change, use tact, but speak the truth even if it feels like you will lose everything you know now. It is never easy being the odd one out, but an you really live with yourself knowing that you never spoke up, you let it go that way. You never did anthing about what you really wanted, you allowed the truth to slip through your fingers to remain on the side of comfort…..

When change comes knocking what are you going to do?

Plot against or allow it to shape you into who you are meant to be?

thehonestone

 

 

 

Back to the Future?

“If I had known then what I know now”

I am not sure if you like that. But I often find myself drifting off into the past and wishing that I had done something differently (okay maybe quite a few somethings).

Lately I have been remembering life a few years ago maybe even a decade ago.
I find myself thinking that life was so great then and I wish I could go back and relive some of those days and tweak it just a bit.
Its almost like we build up the past into such a wonderful time. Everything seems better when we look back.
We forget that we tend to look at the past with rose coloured glasses….

I never think of the bad stuff when remembering the “good times” either. Even the facts never help me here. I know that one cannot go back, yet the desire and hope is always, that I could of…..

I know that we should live in the present, thats where true joy exists, in the now. But hope is not in the now. Hope is in a place where we are not right now is it not? Hope has to be in a place that is not here now, of course hoping that the past will change or be relived is a vain hope, it will never be…….

So the only thing I can do is focus my hope for a better life in the place where it truly belongs…..

theHonestOne

Take it personally

In life many things happen, we get fired, hired, beat down, let go, trampled on, sworn at, shouted at…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

And we get told to not take things personally…..

But, is that really the best advice? The less stuff we take personally, the less we tend to care… Right?

In a world where indifference is the order of the day, where its taught to subdue emotions, to ignore pain…..

Maybe that is the wrong way. Maybe we should take it personally. Maybe we should care about our feelings. Maybe we should take it to heart.

And when I think about things that changed the world, it was done by people who care……………….

People who took it personally………….

the Honest One

Change is not always for the better….

Its no secret that I am a sound engineer (live). And I have been for the last 11 years or so….

I have listened to various mics on very different instruments, some because we could, and others because that was what the budget depicted for us. So we are always comparing and trying to get the best sound possible for everything.

Which causes many people to tout their mic as the latest greatest piece of equipment this side of the globe, and we should drop everything and buy this new one. And lets say we actually test the mic, and find it does sound “better”.

Which is where I want to pause for a bit today, its not always better, sometimes its just different.

Most times that turns out to be the case and just ends up a huge distraction or simply people who have no idea but have a say (management) ending up accepting the marketing of the products.

Sometimes its shiny object syndrome (I confess to having that ha ha ha). We always after the latest greatest toy.

So the question is….. And I do not mean for us to discard all new things or to improve on the current.
The reason I mention this, is when things come up, we can then evaluate it, rather than just accept it because its the new way.

We always hear clamour from marketing gurus that this is the way to go, forget the way you are doing it.

Even in sound recording we seem to be chasing our tails sometimes. Early days everyone used valve microphones (because there was no other way), but then the transistor came out and made it cheaper and “better” as they put it.

Well, today we buy valve and ribbon mics at top dollar because we know them now to be the better mic. Only now its not cheap. It was a long and expensive road to end up where we were before.

Change that is made just for change’s sake is not always for the better….
I hope we do not do this in life…..

thehonestone

We can…..if we want to…..

I am not sure if you smoke cigarettes…..

I find it amazing that there are some things that we, as humans collectively, simply do not tolerate. And becomes an effort from everybody to work together and apply the decision. It requires a unity and agreement.

Do you remember the times when smoking was allowed indoors and in public spaces? It is just not done anymore. And it was applied across the board, whether it was accepted or not by the individual. No smoking was just accepted as, “for the good of all.”

Makes me think, when we want to stop something, we can…(fill in the blanks)

thehonestone