We first saw this idea of change through the characters of Juliana, Mr. Tagomi and Frank Frink in The Man in the High Castle. Their realization of another reality, a reality in which the Allies win the war, causes them to be put into different states of depression, hysteria and blindness to thought. Through the iChing, Juliana is placed into a state of indifference to what she will do with her life. She just leaves the Abendsen household not really knowing where she was going or what was to become of her life. Through a piece of jewelry, Mr. Tagomi goes hysterical trying to comprehend the world that he is put in. A world where he is no longer of automatic higher class, and where his surroundings are unfamiliar. Eventually this leads to a heart attack. Frank Frink, through his release from prison, ends up in a world which he decides not to bother with. He doesn't understand this change and acts accordingly, by living life by "Working and not thinking" (241). In each case, the change in reality, in a familiar setting, causes the characters problems in their life and in their ability to function. This change is obviously very upsetting.
We see this idea of the disturbance of change in Kindred. Dana is thrown into the world of a boy, Rufus, during the 1800's, nearly 160 years back in time. She is unexpectedly through back and forth between the two worlds without explanation or even the idea of how this was possible. This change, or shift, in her reality and world, causes her to go into a frightening state of fear and loneliness. She even compares it to the feeling one has after being raped or robbed, a feeling that she "doesn't feel safe anymore" (17). The absence of facts causes her to be put into a state of unfamiliarity, similar to that of the characters in The Man in the High Castle.
Regardless of what we may do to try and avoid situation that involve unfamiliarity, it is something we can never avoid. All we can really do is open ourself to whatever happens and make the best of the situation. Change will continue to hit us on some level, whether its life changing or minuscule, we can only choose to react with optimism or pessimism.
My mom has always told me that I need to embrace change, make the most of it. She said employers look for people who are good at handling changes and transitions in order to push the company into the 21st century. Look at President Barack Obama, who won the presidency with his campaign logo advocating for “Change”. It strikes me as so odd that, despite the positive attributes that people link with change, the idea of change still makes many people, including me, squirm. Did we really like things how they were “before”, or are we just uncomfortable because we are dealing with something unfamiliar? It seems to me that people often like the theory of change, but are uncomfortable with it in reality because, like you said, it is unfamiliar. However, people are much more adaptable to new environments than they give themselves credit for. I learned in a Public Policy class last year that, often, when a person experiences a hardship in life, such as a divorce or a job loss, his happiness level drops for a short time and then bounces back to the same level of original happiness. Thus, people may be uncomfortable in the short run with a change in their lives, but in the long run, their happiness is no different, because they adjust to their new situation. Your post said that people need to be more open to change; I think people are pretty open to change, but only after they have given themselves a little time to adjust to their new unfamiliar surroundings.
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