Afraid of change; afraid of staying the same?

I asked a couple of posts ago: "Can human beings really change?" Now, it occurs to me to ask: "Can human beings possibly stay the same?"

We change to survive, don't we? And, then again, there is some continuity in our history that makes life meaningful. Without this continuity (commitment, faithfulness, loyalty, integrity, consistency), nothing much endures or is accomplished. But, this continuity has to walk hand-in-hand (befriend) change,or else it is a rigid, life-killing continuity.

Here are the words from a song called What A Good Boy by the "Bare Naked Ladies." I always liked it. It certainly questions outer expectations that are placed upon us, but also the internal struggle to be, well, who we really need to be. And, amidst all that there is the fear of change, and, yes, the fear of staying the same and the yearning to find someone who will stay with us through all of that.

"When I was born, they looked at me and said,
What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said,
What a good girl, what a what a smart girl, what a pretty girl.
We've got these chains that hang around our necks
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same,
when temptation calls, we just look away.

Chorus

"This name is the hairshirt I wear
and this hairshirt is woven from your brown hair.
This song is the cross that I bear,
bear it with me, bear with me, bear with me, be with me tonight,
I know that it isn't right, but be with me tonight.

"I go to school, I write exams,
if I pass, if I fail, if I drop out,
does anyone give a damn?
And if they do, they'll soon forget 'cause it won't take much for me
to show my life ain't over yet.

"I wake up scared, I wake up strange.
I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change.
I wake up scared, I wake up strange
and everything around me stays the same.

Chorus

"I couldn't tell you that I was wrong,
chickened out, grabbed a pen and paper, sat down and I wrote this song.
I couldn't tell you that you were right,
so instead I looked in the mirror,
watched TV, laid away all night.

"We've got these chains, hang 'round our necks,
people want to strangle us with them before we take our first breath.
Afraid of change, afraid of staying the same when temptation calls ...

Chorus

"When I was born, they looked at me and said;
What a good boy, what a smart boy, what a strong boy.
And when you were born, they looked at you and said;
What a good girl, what a smart girl, what a pretty girl, hey. . ."