Change is in the Air

Sometimes we crave change. Other times we dread it. Either way, we can't escape it. Here's how to live with it—and learn from it.

By Chris Colin

As Melissa's due date approached, Erik was clearly at peace with the inevitable maelstrom ahead, despite upending everything in order to go to school, and then tearing that plan up as well. "It's funny. The more time I had with this newest change—the one that took me away from the original change—the more I came to accept it," he says. He still intends to pursue an architecture degree, but he's clearer about that intention. "I came to see that I'll transfer to another school [near home], or we'll head back to Philly if we have to, or maybe just that I'll get to it someday."

A deeper realization about change had come to him, one that saw a kind of balance of permanence and impermanence in daily life. No matter how much the circumstances of his life turn upside down or sideways, he can be in touch with a core that's always right side up—the essence of his being. Being in touch with this core, in turn, provides the clarity to navigate life's loops with calmness.

"It's good to change things now and then," Erik says. "Not because change is inherently good, but because changing something about your life makes you realize that other things won't change."

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