KALEIDOSCOPE: METAPHOR FOR CHANGE

The word kaleidoscope brings back old memories of a long cylindrical tube with colored pieces of glass or pebbles at the bottom and a series of mirrors which give an infinite number of designs each time the tube is rotated. Known in ancient Greece, the kaleidoscope was reinvented by Sir David Brewster in 1817.

The kaleidoscope can actually be used as a metaphor for life: with each twist in the cosmic universe we will experience a change in the settings of our lives. We adapt and live with the change as we adjust our vision to the new pattern of life set before us.

Those fortunate few out there who know me well, know that a dichotomy exists within me. On the one hand, I am this very analytical, highly organized, very planned individual who runs a very tight ship, whose course is always set to accomplishment and success. On the other hand, I tend to dislike change. A lot. But when unexpected change happens, I deal with it in a smooth, no-bumps-showing way. I think my problem with change stems from the planned, sustained change that allows us to over-analyze and stew with what is coming up as we wait for its implementation. The reality is that the time spent fretting about change is far longer and more painful than actually going through the change itself. So my advice to self is to just hold your breath and jump in. The ride will be short and the waters smooth on the other side of change. Just do it!!



Here is a beautiful quote that speaks to kaleidoscope as change:

"Our days are a kaleidoscope. Every instant a change takes place in the contents. New harmonies, new contrasts, new combinations of every sort. Nothing ever happens twice alike. The most familiar people stand each moment in some new relation to each other, to their work, to surrounding objects. The most tranquil house, with the most serene inhabitants, living upon the utmost regularity of system, is yet exemplifying infinite diversities."
-Henry Ward Beecher
US abolitionist & clergyman (1813 - 1887)