Why do we care about change, and how we respond to it? Because

. . . change is everywhere. . .

Sure, sometimes we go years in the same groove, but then suddenly something changes in our environment. Our career changes, someone dies, we graduate from college — there are myriad situations that create change. Yes, sometimes it is more obvious than others; sometimes more debilitating than others; sometimes more exhilarating than others. But, it surely seems to be a part of many people’s lives.

I observed this primarily from two sources. First, my own life went through several major changes or shifts, whatever we want to call them. Loss is the oft-used term. I had most of the changes that are considered major — career changes, relationship changes, financial changes, geographical changes, deaths of friends, my own loss of health. . .

Second, in the mid-nineties, I had interviewed women about what they expected from life, what they got, how they felt about the difference, how they coped, what helped them “keep on keeping on.” The book, which is still in process, is called The Ecology of Women’s Lives: Expectations, Crossroads, and Outcomes (working title). “Ecology” is the study of relationships between organisms and their environments.

After my own issues derailed the book, I looked up from my myopia to see that the interviews I had made were in some sense outdated. These women’s lives had totally changed over the course of a few years. I realized that my interviews were but snapshots of moments in time in women’s lives.

The interviews themselves were fascinating for me, but the light bulb that went on as a result of those interviews was almost more astounding:

. . .life is a process, even though comprised, of moments in time. . .

And so, I am writing about change before I return to Ecology.