Phoenix Rising Out of the Storms of Change

This is a time of change, almost constant change. Here on the Canadian prairies, the wind has been blowing fiercely for several days and the forecast is for that wind to continue blowing for at least several more days. Here in Canada, in my life, that change has resulted in some physical changes. If we had not been confined to our home because of the pandemic, these changes wouldn’t have occurred.

Because we couldn’t travel to visit our grandchildren, I had time to do tasks I had been putting off – new garden shed built, new deck built, and now, a new fence almost completed. But that is just the outside evidence. Subtly, my relationship to my wife is changing, and my relationship to myself is changing. I see this mirrored in other people who have called or written about the tsunami forces that seem to be assaulting their relationships to others or their relationships to themselves. As an author, I wonder how this will influence my future writing projects. Even at my age, I am learning more and more about people and their conflicts, complexity, and our relationship to the planet.

I am changing, as is everyone else. The normal that I lived for so long has become a memory. As I change, the way I see the world and its people also changes. As an author, this is a good thing as it will result in a change in my writing and how I write. I imagine that this is happening to many authors.

One of the major things that Covid 19 has changed in my life for this year at the minimum, is my selling and signing books. I won’t be travelling to various events. In a way, this is a blessing as it means I will focus on writing and editing. After all, I am an author, not a marketer. I have no intention of travelling to a tropical climate come winter because of Covid 19, and again, that frees up time for me as an author. Perhaps, I can finally get down to making audio recordings of my books.

How are you changing? What is driving your changes? What silver linings are emerging from these storms that serve as catalysts for change? I know that there are losses, but my focus here is to highlight the gains. Just like a Phoenix rising from the flames, there is a “new normal” waiting for us if we would dare to let go of what has been lost.