Change

What is change, and why do we fear it? The dictionary defines the term as, “to make the form, nature, content or future course of something different from what it is or what it would be if left alone.” In isolation, that concept does not seem so frightening. On a personal level, however, most of us do not like the thought of altering course or making our things or ourselves different from what we have come to know and expect. Change be damned! We want everything to stay the same!

Navajo Chaos Basket - Lorraine Black (#224)

In our last Tied to the Post, Barry and I explored the issue of whether traditional trading posts and Indian traders exist in contemporary society. Our readers were exceptionally supportive, and agreed trading posts and traders are not truly extinct, they have simply evolved. As with many issues, it is difficult to know if the friends were right and we are still part of the same overall plan or whether our mutations have made us into something altogether unexpected, an as yet unknowable quantity.

Lately Barry, Craig and I have been talking a great deal about change, and what the future of Twin Rocks Trading Post and Twin Rocks Cafe should look like. Make no mistake, the Great Recession has caused us to reevaluate who we are, what we want to be and what we need to achieve if we are to survive.

While we have historically positioned ourselves as existing at the intersection of tradition and innovation, we, like most, do not know how to adapt. As a result, the economic changes spreading across America and the world since 2008 have frightened us into stasis. Tourism and the trading post business are unlike anything we have previously experienced in our over 20 years of existence. In fact, although we have discussed many alternatives, we have found it impossible to settle on any particular solution.

Deepak Chopra once said, “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” If that is indeed the case, we are looking at monumental alterations in life as we have come to know it at Twin Rocks. The confusion is palpable at 913 E. Navajo Twins Drive, Bluff, Utah.

Many years ago, at a particularly difficult time for both of us, Lorraine Black brought in a basket she and I jointly titled the “Chaos Basket.” When Kira and Grange, the Traders in Training, recently reacquired the weaving, Lorraine and I were both surprised to find we could now laugh at the events of that long ago time. The basket did not seem so powerful.

While Barry, Craig and I are sure we are experiencing unmanageably rough seas, as Andre Gide said, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Hopefully, like Lorraine and me looking at the Chaos Basket all these years later, in the future Barry, Craig and I will smile warmly when we think of the events of today. Wish us luck; we are in uncharted waters.

With warm regards,

Steve, Barry, Priscilla and Danny; The Team

Barry Simpson likes

Twin Rocks Trading Post

Great New Items! This week's selection of Native American art!

 
Our TnT's purchased new treasures! Check out Traders in Training!

Enjoy artwork from our many collector friends in Living with the Art!