Adaptability

I was traveling from my house, located in a rural town in south central Connecticut, through Hartford, towards a town south of Boston.  Ninety minutes on the road, in the morning, with nothing but my thoughts and the radio to keep me company.

As I drove, I watched the scenery change. From fields soaking up the springtime sun, to buildings shining in the early morning light, to suburban houses, slowly waking with the rising sun.

The drive changed, too, as I left Connecticut and entered Massachusetts.  There were tolls, more drivers, faster speeds, less exits. I've done this drive a ton of times, alone and with others, so it all was familiar.

But it got me thinking (ninety minutes in the car will do that). About how much we have to adapt in our everyday lives.

Just driving several towns over, the change is enormous. Colors of signs change, where and how things are identified change. Even the way the roads are laid out change.

Every day we have to adapt.  Whether it is a new program on the computer, a brand new phone at work, a new job, or a new route to work, we have to adapt to change.

My students used to ask me why I would switch things up all the time - our schedule, our setup, even our morning routines.

Routines are good, yes. They help us to focus on what's new. But the world around us is always changing.  If we can't see the change or don't see the change, we are at a disadvantage.