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The routines of life are taken for granted
Some of us leap through them day after day,
With confidence and enthusiasm as each moment passes;
While others struggle and dislike their routines
As if each one is a laborious, anxious and wearisome task
An experience they would rather not face.

Then, from time to time, the unexpected happens:
So rare and unwelcome an event, that we become sharply focused
As life is brought suddenly into awareness, with great clarity,
As we become a victim of a crime, a war, an accident, an illness or bereavement;
And as a consequence, we become unsettled and aware of our own fragility
And realize that there are no guarantees in life, that nothing is certain.

No matter how careful we plan and organize our lives,
No matter how conscious we are of our health, fitness and safety,
No matter how prepared we believe we are to the harshness of life,
Fate has a way of taking us by surprise;
Even Mother Nature can throw us into turmoil and panic
And create such devastation that we are entirely at her mercy.

But worrying about such things happening is pointless, as it only leads to anxiety,
The best approach is to simply get on with life and to do the things we enjoy;
And if the unexpected should happen one day, then we should respond:
We should respond or react to it in the most sensible and effective way we can,
And, hopefully, any trauma, shock or unhappiness experienced will pass quickly,
And our own sense of normality, our safety, our familiar routines, will return once again.

 

Written by Mark Woollacott
30th January 2010.