We will arrive at a time when we will be able to look back on the war that began on October 7, 2023. We will look at where we were and what place we have now reached. And, most importantly, where we go from here.
Transitions and changes
For someone who hates transitions, I always find myself right in the middle of one. The only redeeming factor is that – and this is the crucial point – I’m never in the same place twice. In other words, I’m not stuck in a transition; I am always moving from one transition to another. What this means for me is that I need to adapt to the process of change, which I need to experience in order to grow, develop, and succeed. I need to find my “settled” spots or resting places in different ways.
Transition is a process over time. It is defined as the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. Change is an element of transition and is defined as the process of becoming different.
When we are in a transition, we are in the process of moving from one place/time to another. If we pause, rest, or settle along the way, we are still actively in movement. This is in contrast to being “stuck.”
It is within the process of transitioning that we are adapting to change. This can only take place in the experience of change.
Changes can take place without transitions, but transitions cannot take place without changes. And the key factor that determines transition is movement; without movement, there is no transition.
“Balance is the equilibrium of movement. Movement and balance are intrinsically linked. Movement relies on the ability to maintain balance; and conversely, balance is constantly adjusted and maintained through movement. Our nervous system uses sensory information from various sources to coordinate movements and ensure stability, constantly adapting to maintain equilibrium.” – Chris Brandt, physical therapist
Equilibrium and homeostasis are related concepts, with homeostasis often described as a dynamic equilibrium. Equilibrium refers to a state of balance, while homeostasis specifically refers to the body’s ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite external changes. Homeostasis relies on various mechanisms to adjust and counteract disturbances, keeping internal conditions within an optimal range.
This very brief description of what our internal system goes through every moment of our lives, without us even being consciously aware of the intricacies, is truly awe-inspiring. And these processes take place physically and psychologically, all at the same time. When something takes place in our external environment, like a war, for example, it moves us to a whole new level of function, adjustment, and adaptation. All within a system that has been formed by sensory information, associations, memories, and meaning.
Adaptation is our most creative human capacity
I have discussed throughout this series the concepts of adaptation and time and their role in sustaining mental health in living through the event of October 7. I identified who we are as humans, sensory beings, and conscious beings, and how that influences our capacity to adapt. I now add a third descriptor: We are creative beings. I am distinguishing creativity as an innate human capacity from our skills and talent of being creative in the arts and other disciplines.
Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. To be creative, you need to be able to view things in new ways or from a different perspective. Among other things, you need to be able to generate new possibilities or new alternatives. Tests of creativity measure not only the number of alternatives that people can generate but also the uniqueness of those alternatives.
Adaptation is our most creative ability. You wouldn’t be able to read this article, take in the information, formulate your reactions, responses, and make yourself comfortable wherever you are doing all of this if you haven’t been adapting all this time.
Technological advancement is shedding a huge and important light on our understanding of what we are made up of, but we still live in the shadows of understanding who we are.
Motivation
Motivation moves us, physiologically and psychologically. Control, what is out of our control or in our control, influences the choices we make in our lives. Motivation determines in which direction those choices will take us.
Dutch-American psychiatrist Bessel Van der Kolk emphasizes that trauma can severely impact a person’s capacity for motivation by disrupting his or her sense of safety, self-awareness, and ability to regulate his/her emotions and physical sensations. For van der Kolk, true motivation is not just about willpower but about creating conditions that allow individuals to feel safe, present, and connected, enabling them to pursue meaningful goals and engage with life.
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Last word
The key words that have run through the four-part series, in alphabetical order, are the following:
Ability, adaptation, attitude, awareness, capacity, central nervous system, change, choice, community, imagine, individual, meaning, memories, resilience, senses, survival, time, and trauma.
The word that needs to sum up the concept of human adaptation and time is “hope.”
“Hope is about being free to choose how we engage with our circumstances.” – Viktor Frankl
I have discussed how human beings are biological life forms. As such, we share the same basic systems for survival as other biological life forms. Humans, however, adapt beyond the physical. We are self-reflective; we ask ourselves why. Humans create meaning, carry it through time, incorporate and modify, making the necessary changes along the way. Hope is a human capacity. We use it to move us through difficult challenges and make it through, even though we may not know the answer to why. We have done it in the past, we are doing it now, and we will again, once the situation changes. After all, the attitude of choice is ein breira – “There is no alternative.”■
Sara Jacobovici is a 30-year veteran in the health and mental health fields as a creative arts psychotherapist. She lives and works in Ra’anana.