Seismic changes

The only constant is change. This nugget of wisdom has been proffered time and again each time one goes into a tizzy over impending events which are bound to unsettle one's routine and require adjustments to be made.

To some, these represent an uncertain future, as upsetting as the tremors that presage an earthquake. To those who have experienced a literal shaking of the earth, the moments seemed like an eternity. First there was disbelief. Something moved under your feet. Your first thought was that you'd imagined it. Just as your heart stopped pounding, you felt another jolt and saw window frames and doors doing a weird dance.

Should I run outside or stay where I am, you asked yourself. As the truth of what was happening dawned on you, you envisaged the house falling down just as you'd seen in pictures. Then one's practical nature asserted itself. Should I raise the alarm and then quickly pack a small overnight case and make a beeline for safety?

As these thoughts fluttered around in your head, you realised the movement had stopped. Suddenly there seemed to be a host of neighbours outside their homes, talking excitedly and gesturing wildly. So, you joined the throng and found out that you weren't alone. There was some comfort to be derived from that thought.

Similarly, life throws us some curve balls. We can choose to ignore them or take evasive or defensive action. Of course, it is not always to avoid what we regard as an unpleasant turn of events.

The initial reaction is one of numbness as one absorbs the reality. The sudden shift throws one off balance. This is when a realignment is called for, a change in one's priorities and a testing of one's ability to adjust to what is incontrovertible. No amount of wishful thinking is going to stop the relentless pace of progress. One either puts up a resistance or resigns oneself to one's lot in life.

Resisting anything that upsets one's sense of order is only human but at some point one has to realise that putting up a fight is futile, that come what may the tide cannot be changed. Stubbornness is yet another human trait and we continue the fight even as we know deep down in our heart that this is merely putting off the inevitable.

To name some of these life-changing circumstances, there is the onset of a new phase in our lives brought about by an economic slow down as in the present time. A job loss might seem like a bolt from the blue but the signs were always there. So, one goes through the gamut of emotions - shock, disbelief and, eventually, bitter acceptance. Or take the case of a middle class family whose sole breadwinner suddenly falls ill and is hospitalised. Just when one thinks that things couldn't get worse, the man's visa is set to expire and he suddenly finds he is dispensable at the work place. The 20 odd years of service to the company have been overlooked. So, the convalescent man finds himself jobless, with just a month to pack up decades of memories and belongings. Why did everything go wrong at the same time, he might well ask himself. But even as his questions remain unanswered, he knows it is time for a seismic shift. Life might be unfair but one has no choice in the matter.

There could be huge investment losses as companies declare bankruptcy and one sees one's life savings reduced to a pitiable amount. This is the chilling scenario in many homes across the US. One shelves one's dreams and learns to take it one day at a time. The ground has shifted under so many feet just as they thought they'd secured a safe foothold on life and that there was no longer reason to worry about the future.

In the face of such challenges, the best we can do is to accept these changes and hope that in time we may learn the lessons that life has in store for us.