When I was young, an old Catholic priest at a church I attended refused to to follow the Pope’s new rule to change from saying the mass in Latin to saying it in English. I don’t know why the priest refused. The church removed him.

Years later I talked with an academic who refused to change his course handouts to slides like the other instructors. The university squeezed him out. 

My mother refused for years to buy a microwave oven. Finally, she acquired one, tried it, and thereafter used it every day of her life.

Many people refuse to change with the times. These include people who vote or rail against allowing same-sex couples to marry. Then there are the people in the U.S. who fight tooth and nail against the government assuring everyone of at least minimal health care.

What holds some people back? Fear plays a role. Nostalgia for the good old days also can play a role (although those days were not particularly good, especially for individuals in traditionally oppressed groups). 

Being open to experience can help a person keep up with the times. Being willing to take a chance also helps. 

I wonder what parts of the past I am clinging to, without good reason.

You could ask yourself a similar question.  

Photo by Hadija on Unsplash