Spring

I walked a path I’ve walked over 500 times:  From my desk, I head down the back stairs to the back door to the corner of West and Pearl Street. From there, I walk past the Electric Building, The Federal Courthouse and St. Andrew’s Cathedral.  Standing at the corner of Capitol and West, I look across the street to the Trustmark Bank Building and the Governor’s Mansion.  I then cross the street and head down Capitol past the Edison Walthall Hotel and then I go into the tall Regions Building (the old Deposit Guaranty building).  At my destination, I order Chik-fil-A tea. This morning was a gorgeous spring day with the early sun painting the city with a light glaze of gold.

I guess if I hadn’t been paying attention, it would’ve been like every other time I’ve made that walk. But it wasn’t. Noticing the changes opened my eyes how the world is now so very different.  The Clarion-Ledger has many more empty seats than it did when I started my amazing career here in 1996. (Yes, it has been amazing).  The Electric Building now is bustling with activity and has been remodeled.  People even live there. The Federal Courthouse is no longer the Federal Courthouse and is presently empty.  The print shop on Capitol is now out of business. The Edison Walthall Hotel is currently empty (all those amazing lunches I had there — I can’t even remember the last time I had a lunch). The Regions Building has lost many of its tenants. The downturn in the economy has brought incredible change to the world that surrounds me.  It’s easy to view it as sad, — almost like the loss of a loved one.

But I refuse to see it that way.  I’m viewing it as what it is: Change.  Change is not good. Change is not bad. It’s just what it is — time moving on. What value it has is how I choose to view it.  I miss the world of the last 15 years.  But it’s over. Gone. Things (and people) out of my control are bringing it to the end.  What I’m doing today won’t be the same tomorrow. Or the next day. Or that day after that.

I view change as what it is: Opportunity.  The trick is to realize that the downturn in the economy no longer permits us to be average. We can’t go through the motions. We can’t keep doing the same things and expecting the same results. We hope that it happens that way, but success won’t come if we stand still.  We must use our talents in new ways to provide for our families and move ourselves forward.

It’s spring.  The dead of winter (what winter we had) is giving way to the green of renewal.  That’s were we are right now.  And as I walked through the city this morning, I was filled with hope. This will be the finest season yet.  This is our Spring. Winter is now over. It’s time to blossom into something glorious just like the world around us.