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.
