February 14, 2010 – A few days ago, while deleting old emails, I came across the farewell memo I wrote on the occasion of leaving a law firm eight years ago. My departure from that firm was not of my own choosing; rather it was a result of the rampant downsizing which ensued after the high tech bubble burst in 2001. Reading the memo after so many years, I was struck by its relevance to the topics of change and happiness which I’ve been writing about recently. And so I decided to share this piece of personal history here.
“Life is flux.” Thus did Heraclitus, one of the early pre-Socratics, establish his philosophical immortality. For indeed life, as we experience it, is in flux – by way of change.
“Perhaps in a perfect world filled with perfect beings, constancy might be not merely the world’s defining characteristic, but also the way things ought to be. For why change that which is perfect?
“But for us, the imperfect beings that we are, living in an imperfect world, constancy – the absence of change – sounds the death knell of life. Not only do we experience life through the changes we perceive in reality, for in the absence of change we have no focal point against which to measure the nature of things; but also, change, being the method by which we grow, gives us hope for a better future and becomes a tool, nay the Tool, to actualize it. Rather than avoiding change we ought to embrace it.
“And so, yielding to the dictates of life, i.e., change, I have come to bid you all a hopeful farewell. My two and a quarter years with the firm have been both productive and meaningful. The shared work environment, the occasional smiles and laughs and the few friendships established have all left their mark.
“Good-bye and good luck, one and all.”
Positive, transformational change, forward looking attitude, with hope for the future – these are the perspectives which lead us towards success and happiness.
Consider the possibilities.
Adam J. Krim www.driveconsulting.net
