Another hurricane in New York City, and it's a mess. I am grateful that my friends, family, and neighborhood are more or less unscathed, and my thoughts go out to those who have lost anything. There are tons of people, buildings, businesses, homes, families that have suffered and changed, and at the bare minimum, we have all lost some peace of mind.
I've been trying to be cool, stay relaxed, and just go with the flow, but I've never been really good at that. I like to know what's coming, plan for it, and then be able to get back to normal as quickly as possible. This is great for things like getting to the airport on time, running 47 errands in an hour lunch break, or getting three coffee dates in before dinner. What it's not good for is recovering from a hurricane.
My peace of mind is directly related to knowing what's going on; having information, being able to make something that resembles a plan, and being in connection with those who are important to me. And a hurricane changes that. Subways stop running. Phone calls get dropped. Entire chocolate cakes get eaten. There's a new normal, and nobody really knows what it is. And while the internet and tv have provided all kinds of data and updates, it's still new and untamed. Everyone is in a bit of a holding pattern, practicing patience. Personally, I'm in a rush to go back to normal, but it's unclear when that will happen -- and in some parts of the city, it never will.
Some people work best in a time of upheaval or chaos -- they're better adapted to being flexible and going with the flow, and in fact, prefer to operate that way. Life is more of an adventure for them, and not knowing is an accepted part of life. We all have the ability to be flexible like this, but for some of us we have to work harder at it, and it comes less naturally. But that's the reminder for me -- I'm not incapable of being patient, I'm not totally unskilled at going with the flow. I just have to unhook myself from the outcome and see things as more of an adventure.
Because there's little else I can do right now.
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Eat more cake? Seriously, thanks for this. Reminds us all that we need to take some things a little at a time. And just be aware that when things do get "back to normal," some of us who respond wrll to chaos will be the ones losing it all over the place.
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