"Change proves true on the day it finished"

Belated Greetings for 2009.

The old Chinese saying that "we live in changing times" certainly applies to the present, and I've been reflecting of late on the above quotation from The Book of Changes or I Ching. This advises us not to confuse the process of change with its outcomes, and also to observe closely the "Tao" (or wisdom) of events, particularly small ones in my experience. In short, it is what actually happens which is important : "Change proves true on the day it is finished".

It's fair to say that Britain's New Labour Government has not engaged with much "Small Thinking". Instead, there has, and continues to be, a strong tendency to confuse "Big Thinking" with intended, positive, and commensurate outcomes. More often than not, of course, the outcomes have been unintended, negative, small and, in some cases, non-existent. However, this being essentially non-reflective, such outcomes tend not to register on the New Labour psyche.

Therefore it behoves the rest of us to observe closely the process of change, particularly if we are engaged in our own small enterprises, whether for profit, social good, or some combination of these. For whilst the changes invoked by this Government have yet to prove true, it is also the case that some changes arising from present economic problems and uncertainties will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and, perhaps, positive social transformation.