Well, 2011 has certainly started with a bang.  Or according to where you are, a blow, (Qld’s Cyclone Yasi) a shake, (the Christchurch quake) or a burn (the Perth bushfires), which have left many mourning the loss of loved ones, homes and livelihoods.  Natural disasters and human error aside, it seems that there is a lot of powerful energy around at the moment, and change is in the wind.  On the whole, this presents many people with a problem.  To quote Terry Pratchett,

‘They think they want good government and justice for all, Vimes, yet what is it they really crave, deep in their hearts? Only that things go on as normal and tomorrow is pretty much like today.”

I am sure that all those who have survived the traumas of the past two months would indeed have preferred that life had simply gone on much as before…. without the irrevocable changes inflicted upon them in a moment by the caprice of nature. Fortunately for the rest of us, not all change is as drastic or as painful, yet many people still find it difficult to cope with.

People forced into change often struggle to adapt, but even when that change, whether small or large, is of our own making, we too can struggle against it.  Perhaps we would do well to remember that it is perfectly usual to feel disoriented and out of sorts when we are in a new or altered situation, because most of our daily behaviours and interactions rely far more on habit and routine than we realise, and having those routines removed forces us to SEE our environments in a new way for the first time in ages.  Not always with pleasant consequences….  all you can do is remember your ‘child-mind’, and let go of needing to know or control what is going to happen next.  Be open, and allow, dont fight it, you need your energy for other things, and within a few months you will create a totally new set of habits and routines to get you through.    Continue reading