Change … Embrace It

Change … it’s inevitable.

What we do with it makes the difference.

Around every corner, we experience change. It could be as simple as a detour sign on your way to a destination or as complex as moving across the country.

Us writer types, well, sometimes we don’t handle change very well. We need our writing space, our coffee/tea, our M&M’s and whatever else gets us through our writing sessions. Most of us need our routines or we lose all productivity.

As with anything, we need to look at change with the right eye. Have you ever driven through vast forested areas and seen blocks of trees wiped out—looking like a patchwork pattern throughout the wilderness? Our first reaction is, “How can they do this to this beautiful area?”

Our forests are an area of great natural resources used in everything from paper to homes. The methods of forestry have evolved over the decades to the current methods. The patchworks you see provide the most sustainable type of logging available.

You see, change provides growth. The barrier between old growth forest and the newly logged region provide a haven for animal populations, attracting a greater diversity of species and allowing for a quicker recovery of the forest.

Change fosters creativity. Change provides new experiences. Embracing change will help you see situations from a different angle. As writers, change leads us to new discoveries. We spend time researching topics, people, locations and ideas through many different avenues. However, change gives us a chance to research the unexpected.

Just last week, we set off to visit the Kennedy Space Center, which is located just 15 minutes from our house. We’ve made the trip several times in the past year and our six-year old was full of excitement as we made the final turn to cut through the back roads that allows for a such a short trip. To our surprise, government officials blocked our access to our route. With very little conversation, we were told to turn around and take an hour detour that would send us to our destination that was only five minutes away.

We considered bagging the entire day. We’ve been to KSC many times in the past year, so it wasn’t anything new. We were pressed for time and even considered not making the outing to begin with, but our son was very excited about the prospects of touching a moon rock and seeing the Shuttle Atlantis and a Saturn V again.

Change—how you respond to it determines everything. We turned around and set out on a new adventure. In an effort to make the change fun, we set out on our own course to get to our destination. On the way, we stumbled across a derelict mock up of a space shuttle, rotting away in a field, appropriately named Resolution. There’s a story behind this artifact that has weathered hurricanes and trips across the country. Built piece by piece by a fanatic that has no official association with the space program, the model used to be a life sized complete shuttle model. The builder was obsessed with the shuttle program and lived homeless for years, sometimes eating and sleeping inside his obsession. It’s a sad and tragic story that would make a great book!

Once again, change led to new discoveries and adventures. We should always follow the road less traveled. Open our eyes and hearts to the universe when it makes a course correction on our behalf. We tell stories. We send people to places they’ve never been. We engage our readers into experiences that they will never live. The only way for us to get there is to embrace change.

Author: Jim Devitt

Jim Devitt’s debut YA novel, The Card, hit #1 in three separate categories on the Kindle Bestseller list in early January and was a finalist in the Guys Can Read Indie Author Contest this past summer. Devitt currently lives in Miami, FL with his wife Melissa and their children. Learn more about Jim at his blog and his Amazon author page. View all posts by Jim Devitt