In my 10 March blog, I mentioned the pressure on all sides of the 7 Belief systems. Pressure will create change. Change is either causing a (new) Equilibrium or (new) Chaos. However, both Chaos and Equilibrium are temporary and static pictures while Change is permanent and dynamic.
The more I think of it, the more I believe that Change is even required for Continuity – or Life.
Any organism – whether an animal, a business, a company, a human, an organisation, a plant or a tree – is subject to Change. Either it adapts to Change or it ceases to exist.
Non-living objects are not able to adapt and are thus bound to dissolve under the pressure of change.
Change defines Life and everything else but where does Change come from? Who or what is causing this pressure for change?
Within the context of the 7 Belief systems, Life is either the result of a winning lottery ticket (Science) or it is the result of intelligent design (Religion). In that same context, the pressure for Change results from random or human events (Science) or the willpower of go(o)d and (d)evil (Religion).
In my 21 August 2015 blog, I have already written about the AND / OR dilemma. Unfortunately, we humans have a clear tendency to simplify matters to an “OR” while ignoring the “AND” possibilities. Religion and Science are not mutually exclusive. They are like Yin and Yang and cannot even live without each other.
Our Universe and our planet Earth are estimated at 14 billion and 4.5 billion years respectively, and have granted the unique features for Life as we know it today. Most of the changes that we see today, happened without any human involvement as the oldest human species is estimated at only 7 million years. Clearly, human existence has also caused changes (eg, inventions). However, it’s fair to say that human existence in itself is part of Change. Action, reaction.
Initially I was puzzled why humans have such a difficulty in coping with Change. After a mental comparison with animals and plants, it suddenly struck me: the more we have, the more we hate to lose what we have, and the more we fight change. Entire political belief systems have subsequently been built on that (eg, Conservative politics).
I strongly think and feel that our current human focus is wrong: Any Equilibrium – or Chaos – is not the purpose of Change but just a temporary result of Change. The purpose of Change is Continuity – or Life. And adaptation is an essential tool for our survival. An Equilibrium is just a comfortable thought for modern humans and a mental safeguard against losing wealth.
Probably the best example of an ever-changing artist is David Bowie (1947 – 2016). Under Pressure he made the Changes that were required for his continuity as a top performer in every decade of his adult life. The Lazarus lyrics of his last album ‘Blackstar’ even changed his imminent death into meaningful art and also provides an intriguing reference into resurrection from death. Perhaps it’s a wink to Queen’s hit song ‘The show must go on‘. Life goes on, with or without you.
Under Pressure (1981) by David Bowie
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-song
Changes (1972) by David Bowie
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-song
Lazarus (2015) by David Bowie
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-album+song
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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