I don’t just mean vapid things like fashion and musical tastes…those change by the minute and impact the world little in terms of permanent value.
Take, for example, medical progress. How many of us as children were taught not to swim until 30 minutes after eating, lest we get cramps? Advancements in the medical front have dispelled this myth.
It was once thought that applying leeches to people would cure them of ailments by drawing out “bad blood,” and had been proven wrong for quite some time. Well, the popularity of hirudotherapy is beginning to increase again.
We were warned for years to stay out of the sun at all costs, only to hear that sunlight is essential for producing Vitamin D. In years past, young mothers would never hear of putting their babies to sleep on their backs, and now it is the only acceptable method.
Scientific development is ever changing, since the days of Galileo and Copernicus presenting the theory of the heliocentric universe to the moment Columbus proved that the earth was indeed round.
Even laws are dynamic. What was once mandated is now forbidden, constitutions are always being amended and new bills being passed, and we even hear of entire governments getting overthrown.
Fashion: In the year 2000, I would not EVER have been caught dead in leggings or skinny jeans, having curly hair or wearing ballet flats. Now they are perfectly acceptable and even en vogue. My grandmother can’t understand women who wear skirts without “stockings” (pantyhose), but having bare legs does not have the connotation it once did. My parents laughed about the flare-leg jeans and patterned tops I brought home, and I laugh when I realize they could have just kept what they had and clothed me all over again in genuine vintage gear.
How about child-rearing?
“Spank your children – spare the rod, spoil the child.”
“Don’t spank your children – it squelches their personalities.”
“Make your children clean their plates – it teaches them respect for your hard work and appreciation for what they have.”
“Don’t make your children clean their plates – it causes them to ignore when they are hungry and causes a lifetime of poor relationship with food. “
How many times has a new brand of something been introduced to the market, only to be recalled weeks later, like Fat Free Pringles? What seemed too good to be true, delightful potato crisps now available with no fat, turned out to be a gastric disaster waiting to happen. Olestra was pulled off the shelves quickly when people were admitted to hospitals with cramping and runny bowels. The diets we are told about every other week all contradict each other: high-carb, low-fat; low-carb, high-fat; all protein, no starch; no meat, all veggie; vegan; no dairy ... eggs are bad for you because of the cholesterol; eggs are good for you because of the cholesterol. We pop vitamin C to ward off colds only to be told in various periodicals that vitamins in pills do little to boost the immune system ... it is tiresome.
Where does the madness stop? No wonder we live in an age where situational ethics are taught and absolutes are constantly questioned. So I took some time, for my own sanity, to ponder the things that I believe remain the same.
I feel better now. Securing in my heart what will really matter in the end helps me to think twice before dropping $300 on a purse that will be out of style in a month, before I embark on a sounds-too-good-to-be-true diet and exercise regime, and before I drop everything to follow a new scientific discovery that may or may not be proven safe in the future.
I am not saying I will ignore all advice and throw caution to the wind, but I am wary after a lifetime of contradictions of “new discoveries,” “cutting edge this-and-that”, and “breaking news.” I’ll stick with improving the things in my life that have proven to be worthwhile and constant. I hope you come up with a list of your own.