Change - Why Me?

Hello Lions,
 
I do not like change, mostly because I have no place to put it after leaving the drive thru. Of course, this is not the change I am referring to. Change makes me uncomfortable, I like routine and I like things staying the same. Recently, I purchased a new recliner because my old one had seen better days. I patiently waited for it to arrive, and when it did, I sat down looking forward to feeling the new plushiness. Imagine my surprise when it didn’t feel the same way as the old one. I was disappointed, upset, and angry, because it was not what I wanted. I wanted the comfortable feeling I have when I sit in the old chair. The old chair knew me; it wrapped around me like an old friend. Now I had two chairs, one old, one new. What was I going to do? I could remain in the past and enjoy the comfort of what I knew; or I could jump into the future and make the new chair a comfortable reclining experience.
 
The same is true of our clubs. Many of our clubs and members are satisfied to remain in the past. The past is comfortable. We like doing the same projects each year, with the same members in charge. We like believing we are still serving the needs of our communities, without really knowing if those needs are still valid. We like the people we have been with for the past 10, 20, or 30 years. We aren’t comfortable with the occasional new member who asks too many questions, or wants to do something other than flip pancakes. We aren’t comfortable when a new member sits at our table, in the seat Joe always sits at. We aren’t comfortable when someone tells us our club is going to fade away; even when it actually is.
 
Each of us as Lions and each of our clubs, should take an honest assessment of why we are Lions and why our club(s) exist. We should ask ourselves if we are happy being Lions. If not we should work to understand why and then finds ways to resolve it. Clubs should ask if they want to exist in the next 5, 10, or 20 years from now. If they do, then clubs need to understand what it will take to do so.
 
Change for the sake of change is not a good approach. We need to take the best of our past and our traditions, embrace new technologies and understand current community needs, and forge a path to the future. We need to understand that when people say, we need younger members, we are not just talking about people in their 20s and 30s. Younger members are people in their 40s and 50s, and for some clubs people in their 60s. Everyone wants to feel they are contributing to the needs of their communities regardless of their age or gender. We are all Lions. We can all Serve.
 
By the way, each day I sit in my new chair it gets more comfortable.
 
Leading our legacy into the future,
 
Mark Piva
1st VDG
[email protected]