Crossing Calm Waters

"The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." - Edward Gibbon

As I was thinking about what to write today, it occurred to me that change happens in my life sometimes without even realizing it. Your thought is probably "well yeah, no duh." Certainly my thought was not one of those moments of enlightenment. It is something I have always understood just beneath the surface.

What occurred to me is that we forget about this fact of change.

Even as I accept and manage changes that I am making, other unseen forces are causing change in my life. If you think about the "ripples in the water", something set in motion elsewhere can have a ripple effect on our own life.

The ripple could be disruptive to our own movement.

The ripple could be just the right push we need.

So what happens when these ripples or waves cross paths with our own? They can upset and knock you off the course you had set. It is one of those things which could destroy a person, but only if they let it. You could be crossing calm waters only to be swept away. Knowing and understanding that the wind will shift, or that waves could come crashing over the side will help you better navigate your life.

Life and circumstance can bring change in the blink of an eye.

The outcome of your experience in life is the result of how you respond to events that occur in your life. Once you realize a calm sea will not always exist, you can prepare for and adjust when the calm is disrupted.

Be at peace in the crashing waves and you will come through into the calm stronger, happier and even more focused on your life goals.

Stay inspired my friends.

Calm Before The Storm

Steen Doessing - Calm Before The Storm

"Look for me in the whirlwind or the storm." -Marcus Garvey

The idioms "lull before the storm" and "calm before the storm" are terms for a quiet period just before a period of great activity or excitement. The literal reference being to weather. Today is one of those days that I would refer to as the calm before the storm of the holidays.

Halloween was a bit of a primer but Thanksgiving in the United States is the starting point of a nearly five week flurry. The gathering of families and friends for a large meal. The shopping madness, football games, decorating, more family and friends. The travelling, wrapping of presents, unwrapping of presents, more food and drink. All ending up with a celebration of a new year, family, friends and the end of what was a storm of activity.

What happens is that some people get a thrill from riding the waves of a storm while others get frightened by the noise. We sometimes forget that it is a rather long period of time in which we will ride high on the waves of enjoyment. While there will be other possible moments of disappointment. Some will want perfection in sailing through all of the celebration. Some will want it to just end.

While each of us will experience the holiday storm differently, be aware of two things; the storm will pass and that others will be weathering it with you. When you get too high or too low, look for a friend "in the whirlwind".

Enjoy your holiday season, enjoy the madness of it all and sail on to a great new year.

Keep Calm and Carry On

“Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.” -Michael Caine

Back in early 1939, the British government was having to consider the possibility of a German invasion on British soil. The government had to find a way to show the people that all efforts to protect and defend them was being done.

Propaganda posters such as the one above were being made ready. The message was simple, Keep Calm and Carry On. Two-and-a-half million copies were printed, although the poster was distributed only in limited numbers.

The history of this poster and others is fascinating to read. Something so simple that can truly have an impact on the pulse of a nation. I then position that against the quote from Michael Caine that surely you can remain calm on the surface, "...like a duck, calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath." Our outer demeanor can remain calm and observant as we go about our day. Yet inside we are working feverishly to keep moving forward.

The bigger picture for me though is that regardless of the madness of the world around you, remaining calm can allow you to focus on actually moving forward. Not the easiest thing when there are 'bombs' dropping all around you. It is exactly at those times when you need to remain calm and focused, paddling like the dickens on the inside.

Find it within yourself to remain calm when all seems to be going wrong, when the warfare of calamity strikes. Then focus on the inside and begin the process of moving forward towards more peaceful times. In other words, "keep calm and carry on" with your life.
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