Change Needs to Be Constant.

Sligh (Trend) Grandfather. Clock Keyhole circled.

I was saying to a friend earlier today: "Maybe evolution had dreamt up the idea of consciousness as a bit of a joke… A preliminary beta experiment, and was astounded when the human race latched onto it like some crazed addict. Simply insisting that it was better than sliced bread!" Because the state of being sentient certainly seems to be in its early beta, if not alpha stages. One thing that is never considered publicly is that we may not have the same perception of reality and our thinking processes might be quite different. When one considers this it certainly does make a lot of sense and can explain many of the diverse and sometimes mind-boggling behaviour patterns people often exhibit.

For example, a worker in some office may follow a rule, not blindly, but with no understanding of its purpose. Or in another situation, a rule may be applied when the results is directly contrary to its original intention. There are many examples of this in the news every day and if you look around you will see it happening a few times every 24 hours. The only way I can rationalize such" automaton behaviour" is to admit that the person or persons involved must have a radically different way of processing reality and their environment than I do. If you're wondering why I am omitting specific situations in this short article it is because I don't want to frame or create a context for you to follow. By doing so I hope to allow you to look at your own frames of reference and whether the people you deal with on a daily basis have the same frames of reference or indeed have the same "realities".

I can say this: "It has been an astounding few weeks, for me and I have had an opportunity to step out of my normal frames of reference." Which brings me to the title of this short article, "Change Needs to Be Constant."

Have you ever noticed that we all at some time or another wished we had some new device or new standing in the community or new responsibilities and while we're daydreaming about all this glorious stuff we omit the realization that with all these marvellous additions to our life they would be a change to the fundamental way we have to act etc.. By not including change as an integral part in our thinking process, we virtually guarantee that our dreams will never be reach. We want the results of the dream but are unwilling to put in the work and the letting go of old behaviours and ideas to adopt new. In order to grow everyone has to change.

This is one reason why I think people have now become so comfortable with contradictions in the intentions behind the various rules that govern our modern lives. By not looking at the original intent of the rule, we essentially give ourselves a placebo pill and happily behave as though we have done something good.-Usually blindly following the rulebook-. This doesn't get anyone anywhere and over the long run will make situations worse. Not to mention this stagnates the possibility of change because rules become ritualized and therefore at the first hint of some new behaviour or situation there is a tendency to rebel against change. We tell ourselves that it is not our position in the hierarchy of things (i.e. we don't have the authority) to make the decision.

Well let me tell you the 60s would've unfolded in a completely different and dark way if there were never any protests. Your life will and must change, in small and big ways. That is really the best way to grow and perhaps ultimately be happy with yourself. At first change seems foreign and very uncomfortable, because we are going against the established rules and must be prepared for the consequences at first. But as long as you understand why you are making the changes the exercise is ultimately beneficial. And often there are surprises along the way.

May you recognize the changes in your daily life and for the most part enjoy the exploration.
Patrick Clark 
(Related blog article" Definition: Normal")



PS: It has been a very busy weekend, and my friend and I had planned to get together and work on calibrating the phases of the moon display on his grandfather clock. Unfortunately, he was physically not up to the undertaking this weekend, but it is on the to do list. As soon as this is completed I will write a full article detailing the restoration of this marvellous clock. The photo accompanying this posting is a close up view of the moon phase disc on the grandfather clock. According to a Master clock Smith in Vancouver when things are correctly calibrated this disc will change over to the correct phase of the moon at midnight on the appropriate day. My friend is always had an extra key for this clock and I am wondering if it goes into the key slot in the bottom centre of the photo right above the manufacturer name "Trend".

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An update on the progress regarding the grandfather clock and the phases of the moon. 

It is been a little challenging to get everyone together to solve this little mystery. The clocksmith is out when I'm around or my friend is not feeling well. However there has been a little progress. What we thought was a keyhole pictured in the photo above is actually a small nut and bolt arrangement holding the clock face on. We got one of the top side panels off to reveal an incredibly intricate clockwork mechanism.

Our next attempt will be Tuesday morning 18 February before I go in to Vancouver to volunteer. Stay tuned :-)
Patrick