A Little Happier: The World Changes More than We Assume

As I’ve grown up, over the years, I’ve noticed something that surprised me: The world changes more than I assumed. When I know little about a particular area, it seems permanent and unfaltering; when I look closer, and when I know more, I see that there’s much more change than I thought. 

In particular, in the last few years, I’ve made this observation in two areas.

First, in sports. I’ve mentioned that I’m doing “Operation Knicks Knowledge” where I’ve decided to take a deep interest in New York City’s basketball team, the Knicks. I wanted to see if I could make myself interested in a subject. Spoiler alert: I can. Go Knicks!

As I’ve been learning more about basketball, I’ve been struck by the fact that the rules change over time. Without really thinking about it, I thought, “Well, basketball was invented in 1891, and sure it probably changed a bit, but at a certain point, the rules were established, so that’s that.” Nope! The rules have changed many times over the years, and continue to change, and the interpretations of those rules also changes.

Similarly, during my daily visits to the Met, I’ve noticed that the art is swapped out and moved around much more than I expected. Sure, I knew that special exhibitions would come and go, but I thought the permanent collection was—well, permanent. Maybe a painting here or there would go out on loan, be removed for conservation work, or whatever, but basically the artworks would stay in place.

No! Objects move frequently, and without any public explanation. Beautiful new items appear, and items vanish. Of course, whole enormous collections become unavailable when the Met is doing major renovations, as it is doing in several areas now, but even in areas that seem set and settled, items come and go quite frequently.

For that reason, when I visit these days, I make sure that I don’t miss any  opportunity to visit the pieces I love most, such as God Horus Protecting King Nectanabo II, my very favorite object; the wooden statue Enthroned Virgin and Child; the fragment of a marble stele, the white pitcher with the waterfall; the Autumn Landscape Tiffany window; that room of Renaissance portraits, the screen with porcupines…I could go on and on.

When we know little about a subject, it seems permanent and unchanging. When we know something better, we may see that things are ever-changing–more than we thought.

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