November 5th, 2008 | by O.A. Wisen
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Sometime between 540 BC and 480 BC, Heraclitus stated that, “Nothing endures but change”. In present day, change is still living up to its name on a micro and macro scale. King Whitney Jr., said, “Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.” This means that when the wind of change sweeps in, each individual pretty much decides what category he prefers to belong. Either he is the fearful, the hopeful, or the confident – maybe a mixed combination. In another period in American history, one man again stood up, Barack Obama, and believed his country needed change. He understood the audacity of hope, and through his vision, and with the support of others, he wasn’t fearful, but was energized by hope and thus, effected hope in the people.

A change in the course of history is not luck – it is fate. Any man who finds himself chosen to be used as an instrument of fate for any pivotal time would count himself blessed and take on his new task with humility, piety and discipline.

In 1960, British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, delivered to the South African Parliament his “Wind of Change” speech in Cape Town, South Africa. He said,

“The wind of change is blowing through this continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it.“

Once again, in a different era, in a different country, concerning different issues but sharing the same fundamental underpinning, those very words rung true November 4, 2008, just as it did back in 1960. After carefully scrutinizing the current state of affairs and identifying the desire within the hearts of the people, McMillan came to the recognition of a fact – there was a hunger for change. It is that same hunger for change that Barack Obama recognized and identified with, and through which he emphasized Change We Need.

In August 28 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. On that auspicious day, he said, “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream”. As the United States of America (and the world) continues to face challenges and difficulties of the present day, we are motivated by that dream. And with God on our side, in God we trust as we work to make the dream a reality.

If each and everyone of us truly desire a change of whatever position we find ourselves in – now or in the future, we have to realize that most times change comes through action rather than inaction. Change comes in a window of opportunity; change comes by stepping up, and taking up the mantle; change comes by having a hope and dream, and not wavering in our position; change comes through hard work and discipline. Finally, in the words of Norman Vincent Peale, who summed it up in a succinct manner, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

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