Change

My daily quote today is from a gentleman who lived from 1848-1887, Richard Jefferies. A Google search reveals he was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life. Further research indicates he died of tuberculosis three months before his 39th birthday.

His quote: I do not want change. I want the same old and loved things, the same trees and soft ash green; the turtle doves, the blackbirds, the coloured yellow-hammer sing, sing singing, so long as there is light to cast a shadow on the dial, for such is the measure of his song, and I want them in the same place.

When I read this quote, my first thoughts were that he checked out just in time. The telephone was invented in 1876, the first coal-fired electric power station was built in 1882 and the car invented in 1885. It didn’t take long after these inventions for the world to drastically change. For a nature lover, it must have been incredibly scary, seeing the changes this new technology was bringing, even in those early days. Imagine if he’d lived a few more years and seen the advent of the train and aeroplane or was alive in today’s world.

Those years from the late 1800s have brought so many changes. Things had stayed much the same for centuries, then suddenly, it was one invention after another. And now we are talking of artificial intelligence and the power that will have on our world or the weapons that some nations possess.

Have all these changes changed us as people? Are we kinder than we used to be or has greed taken over? Do we all have the technology to be able to educate ourselves on the difference between love and hate, war and peace? As we watch bombings and other horror in real time, do we feel compassion or have our hearts been hardened to such atrocities?

I like the ease with which we live – electricity giving us washing machines, electric heaters. Cars to transport us, food through all seasons, refrigerators and freezers to store this and plenty of cheap clothing. Aeroplanes to discover other parts of the world, phones to keep in touch with our loved ones, televisions to entertain us, computers to give us access to so much information..

But. I also love nature, the trees, the birds, the blackbirds and yellow hammers sing, sing, singing. I still have them in my garden. But I know that many people do not, many places do not. Did this man get a whiff of the future or is the fear of change something that each generation faces?

I must admit I am on his side. I feel life is too complicated at times. I would love to return to the simplicity that he talked about in his quote. But could I give up all the mod cons that we all take for granted?

The reality is, I think not. My days of washing clothes by hand are long over.