On a quiet moonless summer night gravity won. When I awoke the next day as the sun was rising, I pulled open the curtains and saw that my large deck was covered be green leaves!

Closer inspection revealed that a large limb snapped during the night. There were no winds, no storms, nor any other visible reason for the limb to come down, but it did. It silently and probably slowly fell simply because of weight and the steady pull of gravity.

As I assessed the damage, which was minimal, and began cleaning up the mess, I had a lot of time to think. The pull of gravity is merciless. So is the pull of homeostasis. And therein was a glimpse of grace.

Try to make a change in yourself or an organization and you will run smack dab into intentional and unintentional sabotage. Examples: “How many people does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Who said anything about change; my late grandmother put that bulb in!”

“I need to lose a few pounds…my pants are getting a bit snug” “That’s great honey. Oh, I made a batch of your favorite cookie; they’re just coming out of oven. Try one. One can’t hurt!”

You know how it goes. Yet, despite this sabotage, no matter how unintentional or well-meaning, change is an unavoidable and often necessary part of life. I have come believe that when Charles Darwin coined the phrase, “survival of the fittest” what he really meant was “survival of the most adaptable.”

Be adaptable.