Danielle Cote

This was originally posted on April 23, 2021.

What I think about when I can’t sleep. 💤 💭

How could change not be necessary, when the systems and structures in our country were built by people to protect the people that looked and thought like them? 

How could change not be necessary, when entire industries profit at the harm and expense of entire groups of individuals? 

If it’s a learned behavior, then you can unlearn or learn a new one.

If it’s an entire way of thinking learned over years and years, then day by day one can continue to evolve and learn an entirely new way.

It isn’t always about “not knowing any better” People know what happens when you question and challenge people who hold power and authority. 

“That’s just the way it was back then”? That’s just the way it was back then because that’s how it was built and meant to be, and was passed on from generation to generation. 

Change isn’t often easy. It’s often met with resistance and failure despite persistence and determination. Change often comes with a lot of give and take, and the unwillingness to risk or lose so others can be seen, heard and valued.

Change means unfamiliarity and uncertainty. It’s scary and messy, but it is constant. 

Our mental and physical self changes every day. As kids we can’t wait to grow up and get older. As adults we reminisce on the way things used to be, but often still yearn for the future where things will be better and in turn, spend little time living in the present. 

We are sold products and services to help do anything possible to fight the aging process and prevent our bodies from changing. 

People can change because of pressure, shame, blame and guilt, but lasting change seems to happen when it comes from a much more positive place of inspiration, one with hope, vulnerability and empathy.

Something is ignited from within. Maybe it’s a single instance or a series of events. It may be from an incredibly low place, a breaking point, perhaps at a crossroads, where something gives that extra nudge to make the change. 

Change is inevitable.