There’s a phrase I’ve seen floating around the tubes, originating with the work of the famous guerrilla artist Banksy, that I really enjoy.

It depicts a picture of a beggar, holding a sign that says, “Keep your coins, I want change”

It’s definitely a play on words, but it’s allure (at least superficially) extends well beyond anything like clever wordplay, and if you begin to look at several of the political campaigns here in the states, you’ll see it there as well.

It’s just change. After all, change is good, right?

However, when it really comes down to it, how many of us really desire true change? I guess I am putting it lightly, so let me rephrase: How many of you are not scared shitless by change?

Whether it be personal, professional, or political; change has been a huge selling point lately, but as devious as selling points can be, this is no different: it is much easier said than done, almost to an alarming degree.

I’ll talk political first, simply because it is the most obvious example. I mean, after George W Bush, everybody seems to be clamoring for something different (the reasons should be obvious at this point). At the end of the day, though, the desires for our country that the American people possess are not going anywhere at all. That cowboy mentality still not only exists, but it is now arguably stronger than it ever has been. We still want to keep our guns, hum-vees, 30 year mortgages, and bibles. The only real change in the government is changing from a leader who is grossly incompetent to one who is only mildly so (we hope). I definitely do not want to sell it short, however, because even though this may sound minimal in nature when put in those words, it’s as big a change as this nation has made in decades.

Professionally, a steady job that you don’t mind going to is hard to give up. Extremely difficult. All the opportunities that may exist elsewhere may as well be in the complete blackness of night, because they are hard to see when you’ve got someplace you can be contempt at. Many people even find it hard to ask for a raise in salary, due not for fear of change, but fear of rejection. Ultimately, however, these fears are just segments of one another and are rooted in the same sick life-wasting selfish preservation mindset.

Personally, Change from something you know as stable is never going to be easy, but sometimes you just have to do it. You don’t know what you’re missing out on if you just journey away from the conventional, take a leave from somebody you know will leave you with nothing to dislike, but often times nothing to like, and go with what makes you truly happy- should you be lucky enough to find something like that. You never know how well it’s going to go until you do it, and most of the time it’s going to be a lot harder to do than you thought. The most important thing, and this can be used in every example I’ve provided thus far, is that you stick to your guns and don’t go back to something that is fundamentally flawed in it’s stability. You only live once.