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;void(0)) I must apologize for the tardiness of this edition of the Aton Project. I have been in the process of, what, from initial appearances, seemed to be a simple move from one location to another. I was soon met with the rude awakening that this move, like so many other aspects of life, was to be fraught with its own set of challenges. The one that seemed most insurmountable turned out to be this medium of communication. However, I am happy to say that I met the challenge of the communication age and have emerged victorious and unscathed. While we are on the subject of moving and changing I think it is important to mention that change and challenge is a vital part of life. Americans have been moving at a record rate over the past few decades. We are no longer remaining at one house or job for decades like our parents. We are moving from one job, relationship, or home, to the next, and it does not necessarily imply negative precipitants. It is an indication that we are seeing alternatives to feeling “confined” to one lifestyle while there are other possibilities within our grasp. Although the general belief is that change occurs gradually and without challenge we must realize that nothing changes without some major conflict (either on the surface or hidden from view). Water is our most abundant and most useful liquid. Water vapor is always present in the air, even in the deserts. It may exist as a gas, liquid, or solid. Liquid water changes to ice at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and begins to expand into vapor. In each circumstance change occurs and the “challenge” or major “break” from the previous form is visible through the hardening or condensing process of liquids. People who have suffered from frost-bite can attest to the fact that they can feel the gradual and painful transformation in their bodies as the basic cellular structure of their body’s liquids begin to change. At the same time the transformation of water to vapor is readily evident in the boiling process. We see this occur when our tea or coffee pots scream out or when we hear the sound coming from some steam engine. What we witness in either of these changes is a sort of resistance or conflict occurring between the forces of change and the natural tendency of the object to remain as it was before. We are born with all of the nerve cells that we will ever need. By the time that we reach our early 20s brain cells begin to die every day. From then on our brains begin a slow and, seemingly gradual, decline. The brain’s slow physical decline goes hand in hand with a falling off in intellectual performance. This decline becomes most prominent when we are over the age of 50. This reveals itself where it comes to logical reasoning (solving rational problems like planning, deduction, and generalizing from experience). Dealing with arithmetical problems and verbal meaning also becomes markedly more difficult as the 50s progress. When we add the decline in other physical areas, including the senses, we come to see how important it is that we understand how change can be at the core of so much conflict in our lives. Remember the last time that you had an argument with that little cashier over the receipt that listed those items as $1.66 apiece when you saw the sign in the isle saying 3 for $5.00? Then you went home, thought about it and beat yourself up about “How dumb can I be?” Conflict and change. Though we have moved from Tallahassee to Jacksonville, we remain the Aton Project. Like life itself, we may change our living quarters or our internal molecular structure, but we maintain our own individual identities. Whether the change is for the good or for the not so good, we do our best to make the most of it all. The important thing is that we all stay in the struggle and above all, “Keep the faith”. Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author  Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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