The Power (to Change)

One is weak to the extent that one cannot change -- when their very life and survival depends on it -- in response to a challenge of their very existence.  That can happen at any age and time, but particularly so as people get older -- not because life becomes harder and more difficult, but because the ease of their lives doesn't evoke the necessity to change -- and so they grow out of the habit, as people who are younger and more adventurous are wont to do.

That expression and exercise, is what we consider characteristic of the younger and more vital -- those who quickly rise to the challenge -- first in realizing the need for action, and secondly, that a new response is necessary, and not simply doing what has always been done before -- which may in fact, be the source of the problem that has grown into the present crisis.

In that case, more of the same does not solve the problem, but merely speeds things on their way to an inevitable disaster -- of which many injuries and weakened conditions are a natural consequence.  It is also not the case that doing more would render than invulnerable to such inevitable results.  More often than not, a complete cessation may be in order, in favor of a different direction -- that one may have thought was wrong before in preference for another solution -- that in time, would reveal its fallacies.

So in the preparation and conditioning for the life we desire to live, that is what we must practice from day to day -- and so the right moment manifests, we are well-prepared to act -- and change the present course of our lives.  That is the ultimate power -- because if one can change oneself, that individual, will change the world -- just by being in it.  That's how life interacts, and is affected by the power of change.

Up to now, change has always been thought mainly as an undesirable fate -- for the weak, and not that it is a choice the strong make -- in knowing how to produce and effect change.  that is the obviously bigger picture that makes the sum of the individual actions result in far greater than individuals merely opposing and canceling out one another -- even if it is just a game, and diversions from the very real problems of life.  First and foremost, that is their individual health -- which many people feel are in decline, all throughout their lives.

That is what first has to change.  That is  the very way we think about life -- to give it power -- and not just burning off extra calories that we consume because we have no better use for our time.  Each moment determines what our subsequent moments are like -- altering the course of our lives in that obvious and logical way.  That is why we should not smoke -- or do anything obviously hurtful to our environment and thus, ourselves -- and not that our environment is more important than human beings.  Humanity is the environment.

So in our conditioning programs, it is important to first ask, "What are we conditioning ourselves to do, and therefore be in the best condition to do?"  The very simple and obvious answer is, "To change."  That is what has greatest survival value -- to oneself, and as a collective effort.  That is the key to transforming the world.  Far quicker and more easily accomplished, is to change individually, completely -- than to try to change everybody else first.  One has to change themselves, and that action, changes the world -- and not just establishing one's position in the pecking order in the more primitive life forms, and then doing nothing else but consuming all the spoils (perishables).

That is a very limited view of life -- that unfortunately many, never grow out of -- no matter how long they live.  In fact, many get worse -- thinking they have to consume all the resources -- before everyone else does.  So no matter how much they have, it is never enough -- they need more, far more than is healthy for them to consume, or even lay claim to.  They don't need, any more than they can actually use -- and not unlimited dreams of "having it all" -- as people had, in scarcer times.  That's how they grow -- in age and wisdom, or should, if they are not stunted, and everything they do, only reinforces those limitations.  That is also one's conditioning -- in the erroneous belief that doing anything, is better than doing nothing -- when that "anything," may be the cause of their problems.

That is what they have to stop doing, by merely embarking on a different course.  They don't have to undo all the past actions -- but merely enact the different one.  Many don't condition themselves in that way -- to do that.  Instead, they may even think it is a superior idea to resist change -- by maintaining (holding) a position for as long as possible -- often by holding their breath, or suspending breathing throughout the effort (contraction).

That is how the body must invariably fail -- because the brain is the first to detect the effects of breathing (or not), and will direct the effort (or failure).  Many schools program such failures as critical to their learning process -- rather than recognizing the inevitable problems with it -- especially pursued to their extremes.  So it is not surprising that many "successful" people in that manner, are its first victims in reaching their logical conclusions (ends).

That is the ultimate result of trying too hard -- rather than just enough, recognizing there is a danger in too much, as well as too little -- or no effort.  So what is important, rather than the extremes of all or nothing, is to familiarize oneself with the complete range -- and know when that application is appropriate to the task -- as is the signature of their intelligence, age and wisdom -- and not just "More," as the answer to every question.  Often, it is less that is better.  But one never knows, and finds out, unless one is familiar with the whole range of choices -- and not just the one obliterating the other. extreme.

Both are equally necessary, and gives meaning and value to the other. -- as the paramount lesson of the heartbeat.  The heart always straining in effort, will be overworked and vulnerable to critical failure, while the heart never used to any exertion, may not be capable of it -- at any time, and thus lacks that essential responsiveness sometimes necessary to ensuring their continued existence and viability.  That is simply exercising the power and ability to change -- at one's will, rather than simply maintaining that position (contraction or relaxation), for as long as possible.

That is movement at its most basic, and simplicity. That is the power to change and meet every challenge of life -- at its most meaningful level of personal responsibility and accountability, that one wishes to maintain and enhance all the days of one's life.  That is the significance of life -- and all its activities.