One of the things that can bring on a rapid experience of vulnerability is an unexpected change. We all know that “things change” and “the only constant in life is change” and “if you don’t like the weather here, just wait 5 minutes.” We know on some level that life is a series of changes, but we often cultivate a sense of safety with experiences of stability and stasis. We might, in this first world nation of ours, be very accustomed to having food at specific times of the day, every day. That not only fills our stomachs, but it creates a sense of safety and stability. When the pandemic happened and shipping lines were hindered and people began buying things hysterically, we found whole aisles of the grocery store empty. That experience alone was enough to set off vicious cycles of feeling vulnerable, panicking and being swept up by the hysteria that just insured more empty shelves.
We fell into collective vulnerability, among other reasons, because we had created a sense of stability around food, and our capacity to pretty much get what we wanted whenever we wanted it. A virus that we dubbed Covid 19 reminded us that everything is always changing and those changes can become very disruptive.
Change, and the feelings of vulnerability that can come with it can sweep us up into scary feelings of suffering. Change can also invite us to loosen our grip on things, to notice how much we depend on certain things to be in place, and allow ourselves to find a new starting place for “how to proceed now.” Cultivating an awareness of the constancy of change can help us become more grateful, in the moment, for what we do have and experience. If we practice each day noticing the changes that are always happening anyway, when an unexpected change catches us, it won’t take us long to recenter. I am here, now. I am working from a new starting place. Let’s see what we can do with this.
~Bob Patrick
You make Change sound so very fluid. Always present , always a tightrope, balancing between reason and risk. It can be exhausting. In your Essay, Change is a living and an organic process where, through the years, we are formed by the reason and risk we take, we have no other choice. Change can be collective as well as deeply personal. They feed each other. Some folks horde at the grocery store, other open the doors of their homes to foster pets, children, and homeless adults. I think the people who serve others through the crisis, are the ones that grow the most. They see the nature of these changes and ask questions, behave according to their values, and are undaunted by walking the tight rope, no matter how far they might fall. Or maybe they just don’t look down ?