What is so Great About Change? And Another Thought

Everyone is always talking about change. They say it is good. I say change is neither good nor bad, in and of itself. People talk about how old things are out of date and the progression of time requires change. Why? Is there anything wrong with time tested and proven? I think people just get caught up in assessing the "now" and finding it isn't all that they dream it could be. They then think that change is the only answer. But what does change mean? And how can you guarantee it is good? Change isn't one thing or another; it is a description of what is becoming something else. Changes in temperature and air pressure result in rain, which is good, but they also sometimes result in tornadoes, which are bad. Change isn't concrete, it is abstract. When we cry out for change and hang slogans around our necks, let us be a bit more selective and specific. Don't seek change, seek progression. Don't change who you are, become who you want to be. Abstraction has its place, but so does concrete. I've heard a saying attributed to George Washington (I don't have a source and I don't particularly feel like looking for one right now), the saying is this: Deeds. Not words. We can sing the praises of change, which doesn't exist, or we do the actions and live the characteristics (virtues) that will allow us to become.
I hear two other phrases thrown about quite often, "everything works out for the best," and "everything happens for a reason." Without intending offense to anyone, I don't agree with the first wording at all, and the second, well, of course there is a reason, but there's more to it.
To the "everything works out for the best" crew I ask this, what about being boarded on a train marked "TO AUSCHWITZ" and then never returning from the prison? How is that working out for the best? First of all, saying "everything" or "every time" just doesn't work. Absolute statements often fall short, not always, but often. I would be inclined to accept that often things work out for the best, but everything just doesn't cut it for me. Maybe I'm too involved with my self-proclaimed realist thinking. An interesting aside, in my abnormal psych class I heard an interpretation of pessimistic and optimistic thinking. Depression is not pessimism, it is realism. Non-depression (whatever that is) is optimism. That doesn't seem to mean anything after I typed it, but it has meaning in my mind. I call myself a realist because I like to look at the glass and determine if it is being filled or emptied. It would be half full if it is being filled, but half empty if it is being emptied. It isn't about the state it is in, but the state it is becoming (there's that idea again). I've lost myself here....absolute statements, everything....I don't know. I guess I just think the statement is unrealistic. I think I understand the motivation behind it; it is said as a motivational and a comforting statement. Maybe I'm the one that is unrealistic in my interpretation of the saying, or maybe I'm reading too much into such a simple catch phrase. I worry about people developing an unrealistic perception of the world. Everything isn't great. That's life. It is great that it isn't great. If we think everything will always work out for the best, and then it doesn't, where does that leave us? Calling a therapist? Taking a prescription? We think 'this can't be right, everything is supposed to work out for the best, but I'm feeling pretty miserable about having just failed something.' If you would like to discuss this, there is a comment box below.
The other statement was "everything happens for a reason." Here's the reason, something happened before it that caused it. A hammer falls to the ground, the reason? I dropped it. If I was in a car accident, did it happened for a reason? Yes, another driver was being careless (probably texting) and they crashed into me. Things happen for a reason, that is a sound statement, but given the way people typically say it is where I have a problem. When something bad happens people can be quick to say "everything happens for a reason." Again, I think I understand why, to offer consolation and hope. Personally, I don't think I'd want to hear that phrase if a family member or good friend just died suddenly. Yet if I were in that situation I expect I would hear the phrase. I'm not trying to imply that people who say it are insincere or have bad intentions, I just find the phrase to be misleading at best, or rather the context of the phrase is. I would like to suggest an alternate phrase to be used, or maybe an amendment to this one. I would rather hear this: sometimes things happen, not for some grand reason, but just because they happen; the trick is to find reason in what happened. This is what Viktor Frankl taught. Meaning is supplied by the actor in an experience. I believe in God and I believe in his intervention in our lives. I also believe that he allows a lot to happen because of the gift of agency which He gave to us. So when someone says "everything happens for a reason" implying that God is scripting my life, I don't agree, not all of the time. Again, absolute statements are often dangerous. I think that everything happens because of personal choices that people make. God will not force us to follow certain paths. He will lead and direct us, and I've got a poem or hymn on the tip of my tongue along these lines but I just can't recall it. The point is that everything happens for a reason, but I don't think that reason is always divine. Sometimes the reason is just that it is the result of your choices and the choices of everyone around you. That doesn't mean that it is a meaningless occurrence, unless you let it be that. What Frankl said, and what I'd like to echo, is that events occur and we assign meaning and reason. We can let the event dictate us, or we can dictate the event.
I don't know. These are just some things I was thinking about today.