Whenever some awful new change threatens my hometown, there’s always folks saying “change is the only constant! You need to let go!”

I always say, yes, sometimes. But change is not always a virtue. There’s good change, and unhealthy change.

Historic preservation: old craftsmanship usually worth protecting. A century-old urban tree giving shade, cleaning air, providing habitat: usually worth protecting.

But: learned racism, learned sexism, fossil fuel use…not worth cherishing and passing along to our grandkids.

So, discernment is needed. Like a Japanese Flower Arrangement, society takes some care and active mindful development. Let’s get into a few specific examples:

Ayurveda says smoothies are bad for you! Smoothie lovers are pissed! But science agrees! Okay, this is real, sorry smoothie lovers! Same goes for juicing! It’s bad for you!

The Confederacy is about honoring peaceable traditions, a vanished way of life! Okaysure, in some ways, but…it’s also about slavery, hatred, torture, racism, war, insurrection, treason, bloodsheed.

Tradition alone is not enough reason to continue something that has unnecessary pain and hurt wrapped up in it.

Same goes for fox hunting, a beautiful and communityful tradition that gets folks out of doors and connected with dog training!

Tradition alone is not enough reason to continue something that has unnecessary pain and hurt wrapped up in it.

It’s important to look at truth through a few lenses. I love when science studies say “yeah, wow, meditation is powerfully healthy stuff” as with the Harvard studies. Lends credence, though super-obvious for many years to those of us who practice.

Still, as we saw during the pandemic, traditional or spiritual or religious views alone don’t equate to truth if they can’t be backed up by science.

We must unlearn some of our educations, particularly if they’re DeSantisized. We must let go some of our attachments, as we gain in awareness. We must be willing to educate ourselves in privilege, anti-racism, climate activism, in meditation, and away from theories or cherished beliefs that cause harm.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Bonus round:

St. Paddy’s Day is an often alcoholic celebration drowning in plastic honoring the subjugation of the Irish indigenous traditions by the Church…and it’s a great time, and beautiful in many ways. And that’s how history, and traditions, is and are. We take the bad and educate around it. We take the good and perpetuate that. We don’t throw it all away. We contextualize it.

May we learn from history, or forever remain chidren (and not in a good way):