Today is one of those days when sadness envelopes the soul. Why this is so is a mystery. It just happens from time to time.
Illinoisans can get this way during winter. Gloomy gray days are common. If it is super cold, we will have clear blue skies and lots of sunshine, but the temperatures will be brutal. This year is not a cold one, just middling temps of high 20's to mid 30's. Clouds everywhere. So this is downer weather.
Change is a constant. Not all of it is welcome. Some is OK and we take it in stride. Some threatens to redefine us, or me. Those changes take time to deal with. Sadness is often a response.
Death of friends or family - near or far - causes us to consider our own demise. That is not sadness for self but sadness for others that seem to take a toll.
Aging is a survival lottery that is good, but at the same time, a reminder of sand running out of the hourglass. Sometimes that is saddening; not often, but sometimes.
Watching society struggle with change brings another set of emotions. Some of it is fear, some is elation. Knowing others are struggling with change brings care and worry.
Organizations rarely remain the same. They survive constant change. Their operating environment changes. Tastes and social norms shift. Talents morph from knowledgeable to neophyte, to experimental, to attempting new things or allowing mission creep to replace one's original purpose.
Institutions, too, change. They are organizations run by human beings. Mistakes will be made. Amazing new ideas will shine and surprise us. Some will work. Some will not. The future is yet to unfold.
Unsettled by all of this causes worry, and rootlessness. It is uncomfortable. It is saddening.
Tomorrow the sun may shine (except in Illinois) and the future will seem brighter. But it is today we must deal with. And the day is gloomy.
January 28, 2020
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