There is a ginormous house going up next to mine. I’m David. It’s Goliath. I live on a busy street and it’s been erected amongst many blocks worth of smaller, one-story homes and it is ridiculously out of place. And not only is it a monster, it’s downright UGLY! A humongous, ugly beige box. Seriously, my little happy duplex is 510 square feet; I could fit 12 of these under the roof of that big ugly box. So much for my view of the sky. So much for privacy in my back yard. Poor unhappy duplex.
I’ve had plenty of time to get used to it. I’ve seen entire apartment complexes go up quicker than this house. But I’ve also had time to contemplate the significance of it (it’s hard to miss; it’s a big ugly box, for crying out loud): Change is Inevitable. Change is that big ugly box next to my house. How long can you live in a neighborhood and not be affected by the change that will inevitably surround you? If you do one of those time lapse videos around your neighborhood, can you imagine what you’d see? Perhaps a completely different neighborhood in less than a decade.
No wonder people hate change. It’s big, it’s ugly and it’s beige. It’s uncertain, it’s new and can’t we just avoid being dragged into it for as long as we can? Best to just hunker down and wallow in the comfort of the happy lil’ duplex while condemning all the big ugly boxes that invade our privacy. But it’s inevitable, isn’t it? The future’s going to come and we’re going to be dragged into it whether we like it or not. Who will embrace it and take advantage of the positives? Who will be left behind, blaming everyone involved with the change for their misery?
So yes, change is inevitable. It’s going to happen with or without you. Yes, it might make you uncomfortable in the beginning. Yes, it’s uncertain; change doesn’t automatically mean things will be better right off the bat. But it will be less uncomfortable if you ride the change wave on top of it, rather than drowning underneath it. Learn to let go and trust that within the uncertainty, there will be opportunity for something better than what you have now.
Who knows, maybe the family that buys the big ugly box will be awesome and provide me with unforeseen opportunities in the near future. And maybe when the time comes, I’ll be able to sell my happy little duplex for hundreds of thousands more thanks to the big ugly box.
