All things must change to something new, to something strange. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I've written quite a bit on "Something New". The Torschlusspanik list is specifically created to make me try new things. The Wednesday club is created to explore what is out there. Curiosity is rewarded. I will often take a punt on unknown musicians or comedians to find new things I like. There is a joy in new places, maybe a country far away or even just a new local venue. I've written about the importance of beginnings and how they slip by unheralded.

But today, the Longfellow quote got me thinking. Ben Elton in his last show said "I'm so old, everything I learnt as fact is wrong". He went on with a few examples. And he's right. Everything we know as solid fact becomes obsolete. Though people hold on tight to their old opinions, not wanting to educate themselves on the new information and change with the times. Fear, stubborness, ignorance. I don't know why.

The older I get, the more I see it in myself, or worse, in others around me. There are whole countries still ignoring the climate science, even though I had two friends have their travel plans change (in different countries) due to changed climate issues. So it's definitely happening in the far Northern Hemisphere, as well as on some islands.

I think our job as old people is not to assume we know better, though in some cases we will, but to really listen to the information and presume that perhaps our knowledge is obsolete. Or become dangerously obsolete yourself. You can learn from the past but you don't need to try and live there.

Don't assume your country does it best. Learn from other places in the world (there will be a post on this shortly as there was something I saw in Japan that I just can't get out of my head). It doesn't mean you're not patriotic. It means you're not a fool. It means you want your country to BE the best (or at least better).

It is reassuring to fight change or hold tight to how we want our vision of society to be, but it is futile, because the change is upon us, whether we like it or not. We can be open to learning and understanding or we can be part of the problem. Carl Sagan stated "The dangers of not thinking clearly are much greater now than ever before. It's not that there's something new in our way of thinking - it's that credulous and confused thinking can be much more lethal in ways it was never before." It's a warning for us not to rest on what we learnt at school or 'the way it was in my day'.

The same goes with ourselves. Just because we've always thought this way or behaved this way, doesn't mean we shouldn't challenge it. Life long behaviours can be altered, with work. If we recognise our role in the dynamic, we can change it. It's not easy, and it can be quite uncomfortable.

A friend from my youth, since our college days 35 years ago, sent me a message, meant as a compliment but I've been pondering it since. She wrote that I was someone "who never ever strays from their own values in the treatment of your fellow human beings, stranger, neighbour, friend, family. It's not normal. You are exceptional." Firstly, as flattered as I am, it's not true. There are times I've not taken on the crusade I believe to be right for others. I've maybe not stood up to defend someone against someone else. But more to the point, have I not changed my beliefs? Have I not evolved in my treatment of others to improve their place in the world? Have I learnt nothing in all these years? It's got me thinking I should be doing more. 

We can insist the world isn't changing, that society was better when our understanding was limited but the world & society will keep changing regardless. So it really doesn't matter what you think, just who you hurt & how much damage your old way of thinking causes.

"Each day, we have the opportunity to learn something new, apologize for our mistakes, and become better." Lewis Howes.

Linking with #TellUsAbout on Something New.