Regarding Change

Hello friends,

Things change, don’t they? Some changes feel really hard to navigate. Sometimes, we thought things had changed for the better, only to have them veer to something that feels far worse.

What do we do? We try to assess the situation. We try to gather information. We try to remain nimble. We attempt to choose how to act, or not act, when to speak, or when to listen.

There’s an old phone box near an ivy covered rock wall in a neighborhood in SE Portland. I find its presence charming, and hope it remains there, a sign of how things used to be. Twenty-five years ago, a person waiting for a bus that was running late, would trudge a block to this phone box to give their friend a time estimate. Or someone might have raced here from two blocks away in order to call an ambulance after an accident. It would have either been that, or banged on the door of a house, hoping someone was at home.

Yes, we used to use phones to actually call each other, rather than send texts or videos, or to wander through the pixels of the internet. The word telephone comes from the ancient Greek, basically meaning “voice from afar.”

This phone box was placed on against this rock wall, nestled among ivy, in a different world. That world feels foreign even to those of us who lived there, once upon a time.

Even though we use telephones quite differently now, doesn’t mean we aren’t still accessing voices from afar, along with block puzzle games and cat videos.

Most changes come with both good and bad. Phones are no different. The point is, how do we work inside ourselves and with each other to navigate change?

One of my strategies is to remain curious, rather than closed off. It’s not always easy, but I’d rather try than not. How about you?

best wishes — Thorn

Speaking of change, we’re on a different portal! Did you notice? Substack refused to change their moderation policies, so I’m trying out beehiiv after a meeting with one of their co-founders. Paid subscribers, I’m still working on sorting out around ten of you with beehiiv’s tech support. There was some issue, likely regarding foreign currency, but I’ll keep you posted! Thanks for sticking with me.

In other news, I’ll be launching a Kickstarter to get my short story collections from digital and into print. You can sign up to get an announcement by clicking here.