#Change

#Change

If you are a regular Guru reader, you will (hopefully) have noticed a few aesthetic changes in this issue. If you are not a regular Guru reader, well, you've missed out on so much. I'm telling you. So. Much.

Here's a funny thing about change. It's an inevitable part of of life, yet we are never used to it. Every time changes occur, it takes us a while to adapt. This statement holds true to all kinds of change, from waking up to a new government to gaining a kilo -- except winning the lottery, I suppose I could immediately get used to that.

In a way, changes are expected, yet they never fail to surprise us. One of the biggest surprises, in my experience, was when I recently took a closer look at my parents. I live with them and I see them on a daily basis, but I never really, like, stare at them or anything.

One day, when having lunch with my father, who's approaching 70, I saw his hand tremble as he raised the spoon to meet his mouth -- a movement that didn't require such a Herculian effort when he was younger. Then, I moved on to stare at my mother. Although still fit and strong, her face has changed so much from how I remembered her. When did these changes happen and why had I never noticed?

Then again, I can't really answer when exactly my laugh lines appeared on my very own face either. Grab a mirror, look at your face and you will notice one or two new permanent lines/spots you didn't notice before. You sneaky little rascals.

I recently met up with a childhood friend whom I had not seen in over a decade. We used to be quite close, but since she's the type who doesn't really post anything on Facebook, I didn't know much about her life.

I asked her what's up, and she said, "Oh, you know, I moved to Japan after I got married, which was after my father passed away."

OK, not what I'd expected. When you're young, you don't really expect that ten years down the line your friend's father would die of cancer. You're more likely to think about what kind of wedding dress you or your friends would wear on the Big Day, what colour your first Cadillac would be, or other Barbie-ish stuff like that. You know difficult changes happen, but you just don't think they will happen to you or your close friends.

Change happens all the time and sometimes we waste our energy fighting it. How much money have women spent on "anti-ageing" treatments? Have we really been successful in trying to conserve "Thai culture" when we have no idea what it means? Does your significant other still leave the toilet seat up after all these years of your incessant nagging?

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and let changes take your life to a more exciting chapter, like this new look of Guru. Yeah, you're welcome. g

Napamon Roongwitoo

Former Guru section Editor

Former Guru Editor. She writes various lifestyle articles and columns.

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