The New Year Begins ....  What can you expect?

What will happen every day, almost constantly, every day of each new year? Change!

Change is one of the three core values of our universe - change, diversity, and equality. We are living in a universe that is alive and vibrant because of these three core assets; they are what create, energize and balance life every moment. An acronym may help:

CHANGE - [Continuous Happenings Affording Newer Growing Efforts]

The definition of Change: "Make or become a different substance entirely; transform."

What is so different in this 21st century and in 2016? Change is becoming more frequent as time moves forward in all areas of our lives. I liken the 21st century to the age of a person becoming 21; when we expect most people are becoming mature adults. Similarly, 2016 might also be seen to signal that we are soon coming to the end of our "teenage" years. Making that transition to this reality in life is not always easy for many but it is a transition that must occur sooner than later. This process forces us to come to terms with who we are, why we are here, what our role is in community, and how we will obtain our full stature in these significant times.

When I received this article, "Gene Editing Tool Hailed As A Breakthrough, And It Really Is One," I realized that "change" will be very significant at the beginning of this New Year of 2016. The article is about gene editing, a tool that shows the real and indisputable fact that human beings are in a process of changing themselves, at a faster pace than the prior billions of years of evolution. It speaks to how many might be absolutely terrified by this scientific prospect even though it could bring positive solutions for many conditions and diseases with the good and well being for humanity. This is a closing quote, "Honestly, it's stunning to witness the impact CRISPR-Cas9 has had on biology. It ranks with the most important tools invented in the past century. I wouldn't be surprised if it wins Science magazine's breakthrough of the year next year."  Here is a link to this very short article:

[http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/28/460705645/gene-editing-tool-hailed-as-a-breakthrough-and-it-really-is-one?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20160101&utm_campaign=npr_email_a_friend&utm_term=storyshare]

Many people not only dislike change but they also have great fear of change. This most recent breakthrough tool in science is only the latest in human advancements to cause fearful anxieties. Throughout history we can site countless examples that, over many centuries, have caused extreme anxiety and were a hinderance to living well.

FEAR: [False Evidence Appearing Real]

Looking back, we can see why this acronym for fear is true. There were great mysteries, especially in the heavens, that caused panic and dramatic fears; eclipses of the sun and moon, comets that sped through the sky like falling stars, lightning and thunder that brought fire and destruction to people and property. Humans were also devastated by deaths they could not explain before we knew anything about diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. Eventually microscopes enabled the human eye to discover them and identify the cause. With the microscope revealing the smallest of particles and the telescopes looking far into the universe, we are still becoming aware of fascinating verifiable facts that expand our knowledge and understanding. The Hubble Telescope, celebrating 50 years in space, gives us the privilege to see back through the billions of years to the edges of space itself.

With our growing skills of such observations we are able to certify verifiable facts, "something that is indisputable." Through experimentation we are perfecting our understanding and knowledge of these facts with theories that give us clearer explanations to lessen and end our fears. Not that long ago in the first inaugural address of Franklin D. Roosevelt he said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

I encourage you to use our spiritual gifts of faith, hope, and love, and begin to adopt change as normal in this exciting century. May you grow with the inward and invisible grace that is within you to become stronger in your outward and visible compatibility with the universe, our world, and with one other as human beings.

Gerard A. Pisani, Jr