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If we have things we believe in, there will be times those beliefs are challenged. If we have people or things we value, there will be times we are in danger of loosing them and times they will in fact be lost. These times will occur because the world and our lives are always changing. As the saying goes, ‘change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.’
Change is always a difficult thing and our instinctive apprehension about it is a natural reaction. When things change a known status quo is replaced with an unknown. Sometimes this new unknown turns out to be almost identical to the status quo it replaced and other times the new unknown is vastly, almost unrecognizably different. And there is a near infinite spectrum of shades in between.
We are an emotionally reactive species. As we have evolved our root survival ‘fight or flight’ response designed to help us navigate away from dangers in the world around us has also expanded and evolved. From the instinctive determinations of ‘dangerous, not dangerous’ have grown joy and anger, love and fear, loyalty and manipulation, altruism and greed. As complex as our situations and interactions can get at the base of it all we are seeking to obtain comfort and pleasure while avoiding loss and…