Change Is Our Heartbeat
Coming To Terms With The Motion That Is Life
When you’re finished changing, you’re finished. — Benjamin Franklin
He’s right, ya know? We don’t have to delve deep into the laws of physics to understand that life is only possible because of change.
Just think on that for a second. If there were no change, by definition, life would be impossible. When I say this, of course I’m considering any type of action potential, motion, change of energy state, movement of particles and sub-atomic particles, from the nano to the macro.
Objects that appear to us to be static, like a tree, aren’t motionless at all. Motion — change in action — is going on all of the time. And if it didn’t, life as we know it couldn’t exist. One way of thinking of change is as transitioning from one state to another.
Let’s consider a heartbeat for a moment. What is the difference — however small — between the contraction of the muscles, and the time there is no contraction? It is such a small amount of time — the pause between contractions — but it represents so much. If it didn’t happen, the cells of the rest of your body couldn’t be oxygenated.
The movement of ions across cell membranes in our hearts, creating the action potential that initiates contraction, is an example of change, without which, we could not live.
What happens when your heart stops changing states from pause to “beat”?
YOU DIE.
This beautiful sunset over a Florida wetland represents a change of state as well. From the clouds, to the setting sun, to the elements of the air, to the grasses blowing in the wind, to Brother Anhinga, who eventually flies away changing his position.
Sure, there are predictable aspects of change. There are events we can count on and mark on a calendar. Routine, in certain respects, is essential to survival. But so much of life actually cannot be predicted. And the sooner we come to terms with the fact that life cannot even exist without change, the sooner we can embrace the concept of change, roll with it at minimum, and ideally, use it as fertilizer for growth.
Why am I even talking about change? It’s on my mind. In the past week, I had been hit with a surprise — a big one — regarding my living arrangements. I had not wanted to relocate from the home where I was living. I had not wanted the current healthcare environment in the United States to negatively impact staffing situations at our hospital, but each of these conditions happened. Personal change. Professional change. All at once. The fact is, rather than resisting, fighting, and resenting, the best way forward was for me to embrace change, and see the opportunities each situation provided.
Sure, it can be frightening at first. But I’ve found, far more often than not, that things always work out for the better in the end.
And how does this pertain to wildlife photography and conservation? Frankly, it’s the crux of it. I’m using my passion to attempt to influence people to take a look at the other beautiful inhabitants of Mother Earth, and to consider changing aspects of their daily lives in order to sustain life and even thrive for centuries to come.
We are indeed creatures of habit, and I’m not going to suggest there is a crime in that. I love having routines. Routines are a major part of my functioning and success, whether it is a commitment to working out, obtaining adequate sleep, or showing up on time to work every day.
But we aren’t exempt from needing to examine our place in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes we have harmful routines. Things we need to examine. Modern life does a good job disconnecting us from Mother Earth, and it’s easy to overlook or simply be ignorant of the impact our choices have on other beings around the planet.
Homo sapiens are at a point where we desperately need to consider many personal changes to our lifestyles. Some of these may seem uncomfortable at first.
That’s where I believe that examining our place on the timeline of life as we know it, understanding our natural history and our place in the web of life, can be so helpful.
I don’t want to make this a laundry list of things one can do. I simply want to address the problem of fear of change. While it may be natural, we have to use our prefrontal cortex that Mother Nature has seen fit to help us evolve. It’s time to put this melon to use and understand how to help our own species, and of course, others, to survive.
We can’t survive without them, and — call me crazy if you will — but in my opinion, an intelligent species ought to be able to adapt to changing environmental conditions and thereby promote its own survival.
We have money on the table and people very used to certain lifestyles. I’m not pointing fingers and I’m not suggesting I’m perfect. I’m merely saying that the fundamental, underpinning, concept of life is change. If we stop being willing to change, we are dead.
It’s time — past time actually — to take action. To fight change is no different than suggesting that gravity doesn’t exist. You can say it. You can believe it. But if you jump off a cliff, you are going to learn that it exists, and you are going to pay a hefty price physically for thinking otherwise.
Conservation is the same. We can think we have all the time in the world. We can call it a fake. We can be so disconnected that we don’t understand our links to the alligator, or to birds, or to tigers, or elephants, or any animal. But in the end, so many beings will suffer, because facts are facts, whether or not we believe them.
So let’s embrace becoming…evolving…into the intelligent species that Mother Nature gave us the potential to be. Let’s consider our actions. Let’s consider that change is life, and there is no life without change. If change stops, everything dies.
We can use this to our advantage rather than fearing it. And it is my heartfelt belief that when we do, we will be living right. We will walk in balance.
We can do this.
We start by accepting that change will occur whether we like it or not. We head it off at the pass this way, and then we use it to grow into the miraculous species that we can be, promoting diversity and abundance, as was intended on this magnificent planet of ours.
Please continue to join me in my wildlife & conservation photography journey. May you all be blessed and happy!
