Whilst walking the dogs along the river this morning it was hard not to notice how high the water was after all the rain and storms of the last week or so.  I took a picture and remembered the same picture I took last year when the water was very low.  This made me reflect on the point that I have heard shared many times – this too will pass! Nothing lasts forever.

Particularly poignant as I write this blog on the day that Russia chooses to invade the Ukraine, this tragedy will not last forever, for some the impact will I am certain be tragic, loss of life, loved ones, homes, livelihoods and freedom.  But it will pass. 

I used to think this wisdom and insight a little trite, but through the challenges of the last couple of years I have grown more accustomed to thinking in this way and using it as a positive way of framing a particular situation, both good and bad.  If I am having a bad day, telling myself that I will feel better at some stage in the future, to accept and embrace the circumstances rather than fighting it and wishing it were different.  Conversely there have been wonderful days where I have tried to appreciate the transient nature of those moments and urged myself to embrace the here and now, taking nothing for granted and accepting things could easily be different.

As we emerge from the Covid restrictions and start to ‘live with Covid’ for the longer term, looking back I am sure that we all had moments where we thought that this is it, we are always going to be constrained.  But we are moving forward, things will be different but they are not what they were and there are also no guarantees that they will stay this way. 

The weather today has been a wonderful case in point – we have literally experienced 4 seasons in one day – rain, sleet, snow, hail and bright blue sky with sunshine – each ‘weather’ seemed set in and permanent, but it passed and something else comes along.

So of what value are these mutterings and musings? Well….. I hope that perhaps they might offer a little insight into an opportunity to think a little differently.  If there is a chance to be more productive and balanced in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in then maybe that is worth contemplating.  Having the week from hell? Meeting after meeting, nothing going right? It won’t always be like that. Quiet and feeling disconnected and impotent because you aren’t busy? It won’t always be like that. Frustrated and annoyed because the technology has let you down again? It won’t always be like that.

I really do appreciate that in the moment it can be hard to do, but if we can reflect and access the recognition that it isn’t always going to be like this we are half way to making the best of the situation.