'The only thing that is constant is change'

'The only thing that is constant is change'
(Heraclitus, circa 500 B.C., Ephesus, Greece)

More than 2,500 years ago, Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher propagated the above. And till today, he is still right. Well, nearly (everything changes except God).

But what we have today are a bunch of people, mostly in their youthful confidence, that they can bring immediate change. Would immediate change be good?

This would be something I have to disagree to as I believe in that changes must go through a process.

An expecting mother will carry her foetus for approximately 9 months. Too early, the baby might not survive; too late, the baby faces complications in later life.

Same as change. Follow its process, the change will lead to improvement. Improvement itself is a set of controlled chaos.

Sometimes, changes has to be forced upon. I have to agree. But always, when changes that are forced upon us is successful, there must be an agent of change to control it.

Using back the analogy of birth. Sometimes, a mother has to undergo Caesarean section surgery. It does not come without danger, but we seldom hear unsuccessful delivery. Why? The presence of a doctor as an agent of change.

One last analogy when it comes to change. When seeds are sown onto the ground, the seeds will take time to grow. It will grow its roots into the ground. Come the weather shine or rain, how deep the root will determine how the seed, now grown into a tree will survive. Not deep enough, the wind will uproot it, and the bright sunlight will wither it.

So, do you want to be an agent of change?

Due credit to my fellow patriot Brother Jamalee Bashah for prompting me to write about change.

First published on 4th June 2015 at 10.48pm.