Can you imagine being without your cell phone for more than a day? Can you remember when you did not even have a cell phone? If you are over the age of 50, maybe you answered yes to the second question. Imagine a world without a cell phone to call, text, or check your favorite social media every few minutes. Wow! That could be a change you may not be able to imagine. Well, I lost my phone down in Mexico while on a cruise last week. They found it! But may take weeks to have in my hands again. What am I going to do? Just today, I spent hours trying to find phone numbers of people I needed to see because all my contacts are now on the missing phone. Guess what? I survived and realized it will all be ok. Changes are an inevitable fact of life. However, change is resisted by most of us. I have heard it said that success is on the fringes of fear. When we become too comfortable to make an important change, we can find ourselves stuck in a comfort zone never to see new opportunities. Some of us are forced into change due to events in our lives that are beyond our control. Some of us see fear as a new opportunity to grow out of our comfort zones to new adventures. The new adventure may not be as sweet a deal as we thought but at least we moved out of the comfort zone rut. As the lyrics from David Bowie’s song “Changes” say, “still don’t know what I was waiting for …. every time I thought I’d got it made it seemed the taste was not so sweet….pretty soon now you’re gonna get older time may change me but I can’t trace time.”
My wife and I were blessed to go on a small 5-day cruise to Cozumel and the Yucatan recently. I like to try to understand why things are as they are in different cultures. For example, the whole Mayan civilization was forced to change by their conquering Spanish visitors to their land. Why? Well, I guess it always come down to those who want against those who have. The Mayan’s had a new interesting land and the Spanish saw the opportunity to extend their control. Well before the Spanish take over, the Yucatan experienced an earth changing event about 66 million years ago. Geologists found clues in a crater called “Chicxulub” reported by NPR in May 2016 that they called a “Dinosaur Killing Asteroid”. The report went on to say the crater was about 125 miles across and epicenter in the Yucatan peninsula. The crater was about the size of Statin Island and estimated to have killed about 75% of all life on our planet earth. Now, that is a change we all would feel!
By the way, did you know what Yucatan really means in the Mayan translation? Read one of my earlier blogs in 2016 if you do not understand. Hint!
If you ever wished to kiss a girl or boy, you better be careful as the Mayan language has different meanings. The pronunciation is the same in Mayan. The word “kis” in Mayan sounds the same as kiss in English but totally takes on a different meaning in Mayan. It means to “pass gas”. Also, the word wish in English sounds the same in Mayan as the word “wiix” which means to urinate. So in Mayan would you ever pee or fart on a girl or boy? My point is in this world of different cultures, we need to be so careful not to be misinterpreted. Our trip to Progresso, Yucatan was very enlightening to how the ancient Mayan communicated using flat stones with writing (Dzibilchaltun) to mark time and celebrate life according to their beliefs.
Our trip to Cozumel on the Caribbean side of Mexico where Cruise Ships come and go daily bringing people looking for diving opportunities with great beaches is not much comparison to Progresso. However, I liked the historical significance of changes imposed on the Yucatan Peninsula. At Cozumel, try the good food at Woody’s in San Miguel or take a horse and buggy ride from San Miquel to Puerta Maya where many of the Cruise Ships dock. Very nice!
The meaning of change is “to make or become different … Change implies making either an essential difference often amounting to a loss of original identity or a substitution of one thing for another.” We are all faced with the inevitable march of time and the effects of aging. Some of us are blessed to have a long life to see the aging process whereas some of us are cut down in our prime of life. The fear of change should not prevent us from making the most of God’s given opportunity to become a living testimony of how change can lead to real life successes.
As I write, I am wondering what changes are coming my way soon. The loss of my cell phone down in Progresso seems very trivial. A cell phone can always be replaced so I will survive this small change. Stay tuned for how I adjust to this minor change and also recognize changes in your life good or bad for after all none of us can trace time.
T
