Change, quickly.

Both the world that we live in and the lives that we are living are in a constant state of change. And while sometimes we fear change and would love nothing other to slam the door in it's eager face, at the end of every day we must remember that things change for a reason.

We must remember that great things come out of change. That, without it, there would be no black president because african americans would still be sitting in the back of the bus and drinking from separate water fountains, relieving themselves in different bathrooms. That women wouldn't have the right to vote. That people wouldn't be complaining about the government because they wouldn't have a constitutional right to do so-and if they chose to do so anyway, they'd likely be beaten and/or thrown in jail. And while same-sex love is still far from being widely accepted, we have come a long way....All thanks to change.

Change is and is in everything. In the way the leaves turn from forest green to the most brilliant of pinks, oranges and yellows before falling off their creators altogether. In the way that a baby learns to walk, talk and, eventually, count, read, and live independently. It's in the stories our minds paint each night while we're asleep, and the way the tide turns. It's in growing hands and thinning faces. It's in making the switch from counting with beads to counting with fingers to counting in your head. It's in marriage and reproduction. Change is in raises and promotions, in relationships, friendships. In love and in loss. In everything.

Not all change is good. People die. Snow storms happen in October. We grow apart. Marriages end. People, themselves, change. But whether it is good or bad, or even a mixture of the two, change will come. That is fact. It's not something we can control. We can, however, control the way we deal with it. Each day we can make the conscious effort to look change in the eye, smile and embrace it with open arms. To take it, examine it and learn and grow from it. To accept it. Or we can run scared. We can curse it, blame it, harbor resentment towards it. Drown ourselves in it. We can let it be a part of us or we can let it control us. The choice is ours.

And even though change isn't a choice, even though it's inevitable, we mustn't forget that even in the things that change, there is stability. That tides change, but that the waves will always roll in and out. That leaves will always fall and babies will always grow. That people will always count, somehow. The sun will always rise in the east and set in the west. That much is promised.

Yes, it's hard sometimes. Especially when things don't turn out the way we want them to. But we must remember that it is all for a reason. That there is a bigger picture. And that, when it's hard, we must hold on and keep our heads held high instead of giving up. Because, eventually? Things change.