Civilization is in many ways the story of mans greatest triumphs and his most shameful defeats. It is an oscillating tale of trials and tribulations, one which swings with alarming regularity from victory to vanity to vanquishment to humility and back around again. Whether these cycles are necessary is the topic of another post, but the fact is that we have them and must do our very best to moderate them as we endeavor to move onward and upward in the spirit of the law of eternal progress.
Change is the one constant in life. You can accept this fact in one of two ways. You can either succumb to it and take on the identity, attitudes and approaches of one who is a victim of change or you can recognize that it is entirely within your power to be an agent of change.
Assuming the identity of a victim has its obvious disadvantages, but seeing oneself as an agent of change does not come without a cost. For starters, any agent of change runs the risk of being consumed in the process of initiating a change. Most changes, no matter where they occur, tend to be met with resistance initially. The inertia of the status quo can be formidable. That resistance tends to be targeted at the most obvious proponent of the change, and change agents must constantly refresh their commitment to the core spirit of the change in order to avoid being worn down by that resistance.
Moreover, agents of change must take care not to miss the tipping point, that is, the point at which the change begins to occur. A shift in identity must begin to unfold at this stage or the agent of change will find himself to be increasingly irrelevant to the shifting pattern. Rebels cannot be rebels when they become the new leaders.
Gregory Hake 
Being an agent of change rather than a “passenger” in the changing landscape is laudable, but also has its pitfalls. Seldom, when something is initiated, can one see the subsequent steps clearly, and there is plenty of chance for dismay, over-reaction, over-compensation, loss of focus, pushing for structured concepts, etc.
Rare, it seems, is the leader who remains attentively focused in the core spirit of change – something like the eye of the hurricane. On that basis there may be agility, resourcefulness, spaciousness of view, all the qualities necessary to let change bring enhancement and upliftment.
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This is such an interesting topic and one in which we all participate in, whether willingly or not. Let’s face it, each of us would like to be more valuable, have more of whatever it is that we like, be more of an inspiration to others, and to make more of a difference in the world. Yet none of that can occur unless and until we change. So personal growth requires change doesn’t it! So why do we spend so much effort and time resisting it? Pretty counter productive isn’t it! Once we learn to embrace change, not for change sake but instead to become better and more valuable, the easier and more effective the necessary changes become.
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Your post today is wisdom definately worth heeding. Having missed a few tipping point along the way the habitual tendency is to try and nullify ones failure in countless different ways. History is full of the evidence of this and religion’s have developed in reaction to such failures . Most people live there lives oblivious of these tipping points oblivious of their part in them, a precious few have that awareness, and even less I think have the strength of character and purity of heart to remain centered. Your words today are like one of the letters to the churches in Revelation. I say to myself…”He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Let him be about the first works. Thank Gregg for this consideration.
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What an excellent topic. When the agent for a specific change is aware of also being an agent for the larger sequence of eternal on going change, I believe there can be assistance that can’t be measured by any of our quantifiable methods. The agent’s self identity is not tied to one specific alteration. Although the world might assign him to it, he realizes he is a part of a larger cycle of change. It often seems the sorrows and tribulations experienced when change occurs is when our sense of self is tied to the temporal and not the eternal.
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You have an excellent reply that I am compelled to take note of. To know the largeness of ourselves relates to our choices to let the temporal serve the eternal. In this context joy can fill our hearts as we allow the changes necessary for this to occur with ever increasing agility, willingness and quickening.
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Being an agent of change, if done in the spirit of selfless leadership, also requires the ability to inspire those around you. Change does tend to prick the toes of the ego, personal identity, sense of comfort and confidence or lack thereof in people. If you can not only initiate the change, but catalyze those around you to welcome the change, then it will be much easier for everyone!
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