It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
- CHARLES DARWIN
How we change… and so often and much in only a single lifetime.
This is clearest when we look at our heroes -- our public icons -- our human torches.
Take the recently deceased high-pitched, crotch-grabbing, energetic pop star that went from being deified to being demonized in a matter of years… and now he is put to rest by a world transfixed with ambiguous feelings and unanswered questions.
Time and again, we see our war heroes and redeemers turn into tyrants. People from humble beginnings become billionaires. Many times we see the good guys give up. Many times we see evil extinguished by conscience.
People have the capacity to live as saints or villains and shift from one personality to the other with relative ease. We have this as a free gift and a harsh responsibility. We determine our truth by our individual choices and our reputation by our habits.
In our own lives, we encounter extremes of transformation… a once funny uncle who just stopped laughing… a friend with whom you once burned the phone line for ten straight hours who just chose to become a complete stranger… a person you once feared who now serves as your role model…
The weak become strong… the dull become colorful… the meek become loud… the arrogant are humbled… the evil finds redemption… and the heroes fall with greed.
Transformation is inevitable. Change is who we are because we constantly seek for that which we do not have. We long to live someone else’s life. We are fascinated by the unfamiliar. We are drawn towards the unknown.
Never mind if we have it all and no apparent right to envy others. The truth is… we always will.
The prince will always have recurring dreams of being the pauper and vice versa a million times over.
But every now and then, we find true rocks in our lives… people who serve as the solid foundations unto which we cling for safety… people who shift and sway, and sometimes leave but always return.
These people shield us from the chaos. They help us find our center and stay on a predictable course, and they will live and die with us through any transformation.
They are the keepers.
They are home.
… and they are the ones we often fail to notice… because with them, we are safe.
After all the excitement... after all the adventure... after all the changes... we always come home. Always.
