The Only Constant is Change

If one doesn’t change over time, they’re not truly living

When my great-grandfather was lying on his deathbed, the final piece of advice he gave to my dad was this: Always make sure that you’re taking note of how much you’ve changed, for change is the only constant in life. If one doesn’t change over time, they’re not truly living.

I never met my great-grandfather, but I did have the chance to hear his voice through a cassette tape recording from an interview my dad did with him in the 80s. My dad was quite close to him, almost viewing him as his own father, and he was keen to explore his point of view of the world as much as he could.

In the same way, I seek to understand this man who lived more than a century before me — a man who lives as a mere shadow of a voice at the back of my mind, a “has been” who is no longer walking the grounds of this earth.

My great-grandfather spoke a language I never learned, and if I were placed in a room with him today, we probably wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other.

Yet at the same time, I feel as though I understand his perspective, and feel more attuned to his way of thinking, more than I comprehend most people I come across in my day-to-day life.