Changing landscape

So much seems to be suddenly changing at the moment and that has started to worry me.  It’s all too easy when you live in a beautiful area to accommodate change with a shrug of the shoulder without really thinking too much until the impact comes knocking on your door. Let me give you an example.

Recently for four of my friends that change came in the shape of a P45. A P45 is a government form for the termination of employment. They had all lost their jobs and were clutching meagre redundancy packages to soften the immediate impact of not having a job. There was a common theme that linked the four and that was a feeling of not being wanted. These days we hear of so many people losing jobs and if you are reading this in South Devon you might well be one of them.

The good news is, or so we are told, that the economy is on the up and that should bring with it many new jobs. If that is the case then that is indeed good news. It is also true that the loss of a job can create an opportunity for breaking away from the grind of the daily routine and doing something new. Quite often the fact that employment may be terminated has been anticipated and plans are in place for a transition to other work. In the case of my four friends that awareness was there and whilst seeking pastures new wasn’t on the agenda the sudden shocking blow to the status quo didn’t happen.

As part of my work I run short courses building self-esteem and confidence. I also act as a professional mentor with people adjusting to new landscapes. One consequence of being bounced out of a job can be a loss of confidence and self-esteem. Once your world has been rocked ‘getting back in the saddle’ isn’t always as easy as you might think. Of course, as I well know, running out of work is an unpleasant experience for those working for themselves. The worry about providing for yourself and those around you can be a dark and lonely place.

You would have had to be living in a very remote state not to have been aware of budget cuts to our local council services. Mayor Gordon Oliver has had to produce a budget to save millions of pounds which has already caused serious hardship. Budget cuts tend to mean people losing jobs because it has an immediate impact upon the balance sheet. Those council jobs at one time tended to be a job for life but that cosy concept appears to have slipped into history.

Philosopher Alain De Botton is an interesting man and talks about the curious nature of human consciousness. It is that consciousness that all too often has the biggest impact when unemployment comes knocking on the door. We are very aware of the future or at least an anticipation of a future and worry about what comes next. I remember a while ago chatting with my doctor about a number of things at a time when the dark demons were knocking on my mind. My blood pressure had been high and he was recommending a new medication. I questioned whether I really wanted to take another drug. He suggested that it would possibly make me live longer. “Why would I want to do that?” I asked. His reply still makes me smile as I write. “It will satisfy your natural curiosity as to what comes next!”

Numerous people have played around with the words ‘the past is history, the future is a mystery and the present is a gift’. This is a truth of course. What has happened has happened. What is to happen does tend to be mostly hidden from us and so all we can truly deal with is the actuality of our own reality at this precise moment.  It can be so hard to do that because there is a tendency to look back fretting about what happened. But that is the point! It has happened and so we must move on and be the wiser for it. We might worry about the future and plan but once again events tend to throw up many threats and opportunities. We must learn from the past, plan for the future but live in the present.

So here is a little homework for you. At the start of your day stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at your reflection. Yes it really is you! Now smile at your reflection and watch it smile back. If you think that is silly now give yourself a wink! Hopefully that will make you laugh and that is the point. In doing that silly little exercise you set a platform for the day. It is your day and you have decided to be in a better place. That smile is infectious and you now face the world as a source of light rather than darkness. That has to be a good thing for all of us.

Keep the smile!