Café Blog

The Only Way to Survive a Frantically Changing World

By Janelle-Ann Frances

Like many people today, I find myself in a constant state of panic about today’s world. For example, earlier I saw a news story about how AI is basically refusing to shut off when its creators tell it to. This was just one story that detonated my inner peace and caused my psyche to implode. Sometimes I feel the weight of everything out of my control so much that I can’t even function properly. Many people have felt abrupt and unpleasant changes throughout history, you can’t argue with that. But the rate in which our world is changing is hard even for me, someone born in the 21st century, to process. Even though things have always been changing, it wasn’t until a couple years ago that I could feel this intense cadence. What makes it even worse is how alone I feel in my daze.  Only when I go on the internet do I see people really talking about it. But we all feel it, we all see it, so let’s talk about it. How does one exist in a world that is running faster than Flo-Jo?

    When I was an adolescent just about to enter high school, my family moved to a different state. I had loved my neighborhood, the seasons, the community, our house, and the plain familiarity of my surroundings. I thrived in my little bubble, so as you could imagine, the move was rather hard for me at first. I was isolated, nervous, and lost. For the first time, I knew that I truly had no idea who I was. Now, this all sounds a bit too dramatic to be a simple story about a kid who moved, but it leads to my point. Had I been more prepared to face something different, and to adapt to my new environment, I would’ve been much better off during that first year. Of course, I didn’t know what I know now, but I learned from this experience. I’m not comparing the move to these catastrophic world events; I’m pointing to the trait that I needed then, and that I need now. It’s one word: versatility. Versatile in the sense that I understand things can change at any time, and that I should have a plan B, C, D, etc. Each are different methods to approaching obstacles, ranging from practical to extreme.

    The foundation of this versatility is to detach yourself from the idea of permanence as much as possible. That is not to say that you shouldn’t value things, or be sentimental. To glue yourself to a certain stance, though, can be dangerous. I’ll give an example. Sandra puts her heart and soul into becoming a pro athlete. She sheds “blood, sweat, and tears” to become the strongest, fastest, most dexterous woman in the game. There’s nothing wrong with this amount of discipline at all. It’s inspiring, healthy, and meaningful. But this is the one thing that Sandra wants. If she can’t be great at this, there’s nothing else she can do (or so she thinks). But one day, she gets a bad injury, and several doctors hand over the same verdict: she can no longer be the athlete she was before. This crushes her. Her sense of self is low, because in her eyes, she’s lost her purpose. The other scenario is this: doctors tell Sandra she can no longer be the athlete she was before, only it doesn’t break her. Of course she’s upset at first, but soon she realizes that like everything else, her athlete days were numbered from the beginning. She has cultivated different tools on the way to find her purpose elsewhere.

    The athlete example is a light scenario compared to other possibilities. We have to think that it’s possible we won’t be able to follow through with our 5-year plan, or original course of action. That something can happen that’ll upset the routine. From a financial emergency to a natural disaster in our area, we should acknowledge that the system that our everyday lives depend on may fall short by a few circuits, and that we might have to change with it. I’m not saying to live in fear. I’m saying to learn how to swim with the stream, to move with the ebbs and flows of life. I think of a quote from Bruce Lee: “Be formless, be shapeless, like water. You put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle…Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” One might think I’m saying to be passive, but that is not it at all. I’m saying to prepare your mind and your body for obstacles that might come your way. Not only will this make you more capable of handling minor everyday inconveniences, but it might make you feel more at peace in this ever-changing world. We should all try to expand our knowledge through various avenues, learn new life skills every day, and challenge our thoughts. Obviously, this is easier said than done. We are creatures of habit, creatures of shelter. This kind of thinking takes practice, but it could just save our lives.

Chalk on the Street

We can terrorize the neighborhood with

our bikes and rollers, pick boysenberries

on high branches. Sit like big kids at the

school park on a Saturday, canned teas

and converses.

Take a minute to feel new like a kid, you

make me feel careless on a summer night.

Summers we had for 3 months, night after

night of bonfires and fireflies. Youth is

eternal.

We can feel giddy, we can feel free. Even

if it’s from two-thirty to three. Like a 90s

cartoon, like chalk on the street. Scabs on

your hands from a sloppy downhill speed.

Chalky jeans.

-Janelle-Ann Frances, 3/27/25