Life Is Unscripted

Although being aware and prepared is a choice...

Events that occur seemingly unexpectedly or dramatically often build up over time with smaller occurrences that portend a sudden one. That is how it is with me currently as we approach summer and just as quickly as I was wondering when the next shoe was going to drop in a situation it did. In this case I am referring to my sister who has suffered with the rare disabling autoimmune disease Scleroderma for a very long time that has escalated the past few years. Last summer she took a sudden turn making a very long hot summer weather wise even hotter and longer in the soul. This past year has been a period of rises and falls in her medical condition and recently circumstance have foreshadowed that another major turn was due. Without going into personal detail it now has and the disruption is not unexpected any more than it is welcomed but nonetheless it has occurred. The time has arrived to calmly go into critical situation mode with my head and wits about me in full control over what I am able to direct and let happen what I cannot.

We are prepared for these things if we pay attention to signs that attune us to what it going on around us externally and internally. This awareness has many names including intuition, discernment, instinct, gut feelings, perception, premonition, hunches, foreknowledge and some would say clairvoyance. In many ways it is a result of experience and age bringing wisdom that gives us insight into what is most likely to happen given certain circumstances. In this instance signals were beaming at me that alerted my senses to be aware and begin to prepare for some possible difficult and unpleasant scenarios. Fortunately I paid attention to them and awkwardly started groping for coping tools to hone and let those who help me through uncertain situations know what my perceptions were telling me. This evening a defining event arrived and over the next few weeks and quite possibly months will need to marshal the resources I have gathered and as wisely as possible implement them. The readiness will guide me through although it will not necessarily make it easier or comfortable.

2012 Social, Economic, Political

Lay a foundation of inner strength for the long haul... 

This past year was one that I certainly cannot say "it went by so fast" since for me it didn't. It was a dramatic year of magnificent highs and lows, replete with drama resolved, that I fully lived every day of. Snitching a phrase it was "a time for every season" and a cliche it was a "passage of life" with the conundrum puzzled out. What I learned in the past year, after figuring out I didn't know as much as I thought, provided guide stones for what will certainly be a tumultuous year for our country and world. Going through and beyond personal milestones and stumbling blocks provided a solid foundation to allow me to personally cope with a globe going out of control that I can do little about. I learned that the external social disruption, economic disaster and political turmoil of the past few years cannot derail me and that I have the internal will to survive what may come.

This year the change in society will become evident to everyone and few will be able to live in denial. The economic crackup that seemingly took a brief holiday last year will return full force and cause social, economic and political realms to change. We are in for a tough year when the recognition that the quick fixes didn't work will out of necessity fade into settling in for a long haul of change and restoration. It is the end of the world as we knew it but not the end of the world, rather the aurora of a new period in history. People will stumble and fall as well as survive and thrive. Our goal is through skills of inner strength overcome and creatively rise above the fray relatively unscathed. We are of little use to others if we are not capable of keeping ourselves tethered to the shore.

When the world around us is spinning off its axis it's critical to remind ourselves we have no control over it. While external events may affect us how we respond and cope with them is what matters. A great thing about getting older truly is getting wiser. To gain wisdom we must learn from our past mistakes and victories so we may burrow a strong foothold on the spinning top of earth and keep our feet planted in the ground so as not to fly off.

The easy road to problems and difficulties is avoidance and procrastination except that actually results in multiplying into more bad situations. Painful and demanding is the road that leads to breaking through hard times but the by-product is not only resolutions but also acquiring new coping skills. It is these skills that we build an inherent infrastructure to keep us rooted on terra firma to avoid being blown away by extraneous gales and headwinds. If you haven't already, start laying your foundation of readiness to calmly live through the tempest. If you already have then keep building.

The Power Within You

What is your perception of who is in control?...

We live in an era of change of great magnitude. On Monday the stock market tumbled and the world as the financial people viewed it was coming to an end. Like lemmings to the sea the next day stocks went slightly "back in the green" clinging to a thread of hope that the Federal Reserve meeting yesterday holding interest rates until mid-2013 will bring restoration. Never mind that the underlying fundamental financial problems of nations are unlikely to be solved by any intervention. The bottom line is the world is overleveraged, unemployment is high and demand for goods is down and these elemental circumstances are unlikely to be changed in the short term. It is going to require a long term effort of hard work to restore the world's economies and reshape our society. How we cope as individuals to global events determines how we maintain or physical and mental well being.

A lot of people in the US have been financially hurt and will continue to be by the rocking of the markets since they believed in them and invested their savings and retirement funds in stock market vehicles. How people react and cope with financial losses as well as changes in style of living, breaks in personal relationships and upheaval in daily life will be built on how they perceive life. Who is in control, themselves or external forces?

This concept in psychology is called locus of control. It is based on the degree an individual considers they control the events of life that effect them and their reaction to them. If you believe that what the government, your employer, the financial markets, events external to you determine the direction of your life, then they will. The path your life takes and your outlook towards it will determine the direction it goes in. If you are expecting the government, your employer or the amount in your bank account to fix what is wrong with you, our economy, society or politics then you are likely to be hanging out a long time and unhappy while you wait.

On the other hand if you decide that the losses you may have taken financially, your lack of employment or income, what is going on in world events is not going to determine how you react, you stand a much better chance of living through them in a healthy manner. If your approach is proactive and positive, keeping your mind healthy and determined to ride out any storm, then you will. This is not to say it will be easy. Those of us who have weathered a few tough storms in life have at times felt we weren't so sure we had the self control or willpower to overcome but still persevered. In the end I've been glad I did. There are proven scientific models that indicate how we think and view events in our life does determine the manner in which our brain waves react. In turn this affects the outcome of how we perceive our lives and resolve problems.

Whatever it takes that suits you to direct your brain matter in a positive direction is what is important and not what other people may think about it. You have control over your mind and attitude, no one else does. The power of positive thinking, belief in a higher power, meditation and prayer, hypnotherapy, self-talk and other methods have helped millions of people overcome when they think things couldn't be any worse. It is crucial to keep in mind that just when you think nothing is happening, suddenly a simple thing occurs that creates a wind of change in direction, causing you to catch the crest of a wave in thinking differently. An opening of the mind and insight usually happens when you're not looking for it. Prior to it happening your brain must be prepared for it by working toward and maintaining a confident outlook.

We can't change the monumental events of our times and sometimes we can't change the things that have happened to us that cause our losses. What we can change is the way we view them and redirect our energies into something better, one step at a time. We can work to restore our lives, help others do so and reshape the society around us. It is hard work well worth the rewards.