#DailyWritingChallenge: Change
For some reason as soon as I thought of the word change, I was reminded of the book ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark.’ Plop (the baby owl) didn’t like the dark and wanted to eradicate it. When I was confronted with the word change, the chapter titles from this book fitted so perfectly, each one looks at the positive aspects of the dark and I am hoping that they will help me to look at the positive aspects of ‘change’.
Dark is Exciting – Change is Exciting
Change can be exciting – the birth of a baby, being newly married, meeting a new class, moving to a different school or buying a new house. These changes offer so much in the way of excitement because of the opportunities they afford. What is the most exciting change you have had in your life?
Dark is Kind – Change is Kind
Change can be incredibly kind. When people are campaigning for change it tends to be from a place of kindness, from wanting to make a difference. Keeping things the same is not always the best thing to do, it may appear an easier option but it is not always the kindest option. What have you changed out of kindness?
Dark is Fun – Change is Fun
Change can be fun if it is embraced in the right spirit and we have a choice about how to embrace the changes we face. I remember moving to Northern Ireland early on in my teenage years – leaving my friends, my school and everything that I was familiar with. My dad went out of his way to make the move fun and this helped to relieve my upset and anxiety. I remember that we camped on the living room floor of the new house on the first night and had a fish and chip supper. How have you made change fun? I am sure that there are many things that you are doing right now, during this pandemic to deal with the changes in a fun way.
Dark is Necessary – Change is Necessary
We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and so many changes have been necessary in order to limit the number of cases and protect the most vulnerable. As a teacher here are a few changes that have affected me – schools have been closed to all but the children of key-workers, educators are now teaching through online platforms, there is a national lock-down and all that was familiar has been turned on its head. What necessary changes have you faced?
Dark is Fascinating – Change is Fascinating
Change is fascinating – caterpillars turning into butterflies, the world evolving over millions of years, how different civilisations have changed the world for the better (or the worse). I find it all fascinating – History, Geography, Science, in fact every subject I can think of would be incredibly boring if nothing ever changed. Does change fascinate you?
Dark is Wonderful – Change is Wonderful
I remember years ago that someone told me that ‘wonderful’ meant to be ‘full of wonder’ and change does cause me to wonder (verb: desire to know something; feel curious). I wonder why awful changes happen – this year we have had fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes and a worldwide pandemic. I wonder if anything could have been done to stop these changes and I wonder if we will learn anything from what has happened? What changes cause you to wonder?
Dark is Beautiful – Change is Beautiful
I love watching the seasons change and adore the beauty of nature ever evolving around me. Currently, at the height of Spring I am surrounded by cherry blossom, apple blossom, and bluebells that weren’t there a month ago. All are so beautiful. What changes do you find beautiful?
Final Thoughts
I was initially going to write about change being scary, which is why I think the book popped into my mind. That brings me back to Plop – the little owl who did embrace change and by the end of the book (spoiler alert) was no longer scared of the dark. Change may be scary, but it is also all of the other things and that is what I need to remember because one thing is for certain:
