Ways of Changing

I was right in the middle of a perfectly good blue-sky day, enjoying it to the hilt, when it changed.  One thing you can say about the weather, it pays no attention to you at all.  No matter what you do or say, it just gets up, stops listening to you going on about how pretty it all is, and walks away.  Takes its ball and goes home, so to speak.  

I guess I was feeling a little full of myself, pleased with the idea that it felt like spring today and that the willows were in early bud, swinging their branches all swishy and gentle.  I was tricked into believing that I had it all figured out and had a fine afternoon ahead of me.  But, no.  

Life in general is kind of like that, changes always happening no matter what you think.  You get all comfortable and cocky, keep track of events and places, and they're all okay.  Then either a big change hits you right between the eyes or little ones sneak up like a bunch of hungry cats and tear into what you know about things, turn them into crumbs and scraps.

I take change in two ways.  One way is tell myself not to count on anything, just take whatever happens and just go on with it, like a donkey who is heaped up with a huge load of sticks and just keeps walking along with its head down and eyes half closed, bearing the load.  The other way is to sit down and think about things very hard and see a pattern in it all.  Then, you can predict and brace yourself a while and not get hit broadside by the big stuff that comes along.  Sometimes the little hungry-cat things show you that you'd better keep your eyes open for a big between-the-eyes surprising change.  I try to do it that way, sit and think things through, and maybe I'm getting better at it than I used to be.  But, the trouble with that is you have to remember to sit and study it all out, look at the little changes happening because they're always there, stuff is always changing.

There is a famous quote from someone wise who must've had a big smackgob change hit him right in between the eyes one day:  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When you expect that things will always change, you're always going to be right about that at least.  Today was a fine day.  But, I believe it was fine because I expected changes, looked for them, and when I saw them happening, I wasn't in the least bit surprised.  But, there I go feeling smug again.  Time to study again and look for the next big change.