artwork Copyright 2009 Jean Burman
Hello Everyone.
Back in February 2008 when I wrote of change I could not have known how blustery the winds of change could be… how fast they could blow through a life… and how far they would eventually sweep me!
I know we should “be careful what we wish for” but I must confess… I’d been secretly hoping for change. Nothing big, mind you. Something small and manageable would have been good. A gentle nudge even… perhaps?
But no… when change finally came… it was far from the gentle breeze I had anticipated. It was a maelstrom. A veritable whirlpool of changing events that played out so fast and so convincingly I could only deduce that it was “what was meant to be”. The universe had intervened. A hapless bystander in my own life… there was no avoiding any of it.
“The moving finger writes; and having writ moves on. Nor all thy piety nor thy wit shall serve to cancel half a line; nor all thy tears wash out a word of it” from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
But I am happy to report that I have “lived to tell the tale”. Not that I am going to tell it here! (grin) Suffice it to say that whilst my life has irrevocably changed… I have never been better. Yes it has made me sad… but I am no stranger to that. And I shall no doubt feel it again before my days are over.
But viewed in a prudential light my troubles have been few. I am not facing death, sickness or bankruptcy. It is simply time to say goodbye to a part of my life and move gloriously on! It’s only “change”… and I can do that! (grin)
I’ve emerged stronger and wiser than I could ever have imagined. The things I knew to be true yesterday are no longer an issue. The things I now know were false all along no longer matter.
I am brimming with optimism for the future and feel a deep sense of “rightness” with my world. Most of all… I know in my heart that the best of my life is yet to come.
artwork Copyright 2009 Jean Burman
So finally… at last… Happy New Year everyone! Despite all the bad news in the press… the doom and gloom on every page. None of it really matters. It’s all beyond our control anyway. The only thing we can control in life… is our response to it.
And the really good news is it’s still an incredibly beautiful and all encompassing world. We have art. We have music. We have words. We have life. We have each other. I am still working on the joyful bit… but I can feel it in the wind… though coming on a gentle breeze this time… curling quietly round the corner!
Thanks for waiting.
I’ve missed you all.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve missed you, too! Change is the only constant in life.
I think I may have had my lifetime share in the past three months. Enough anyway for now. LOL Thanks Vernita
I have changes planned here at the blog as well which I hope to have up and running in the next couple of weeks. A new format and layout. I’m looking forward to it.
Hi Jean…some things never change, for instance the fact that you love to write and cartoon and share it with us! Yep when change does come, it is usually quite a sneaky character and never lets you know until it has happened…then as you peer through the dust, you realise you are actually somewhere else! Wether you like it or not. You are so right in saying that with most change, you have no other option than to just peel back what you have inside and discover things about yourself – just how resilient you can be, just how much strength and courage you CAN muster and then you find what is good about that change (that occurs with willful change or not!) and where it can take you.
Personally ..I got caught up in the hype of the extreme weather conditions we have been experiencing here on an emotional level. I was sensing the change that people had endured in a split second and what that split second would unveil for the rest of those peoples lives, my empathy runs deep!!! Even though we may know where we live, we never know what may happen next…so my philosophy for that scenario, is that we should grab opportunities, we should just get in there and have a go and at least try to make a start at what our hearts desire.
My life is about to change again without any control from myself! My injection is due next Thursday, which will relieve my pain. Then…there is the outside chance of some physio (man…if I could jump up and down, I would!!!). Just this one procedure that I have been waiting for, (for what seems like an eternity), will change how I live every day. I am very, very nervous, but…oh so excited!!!
It is excellent having you back Jeano!
hahaha… that’s so funny Jools! We talked about this I know. But for those who don’t know… the Jeano tag was bestowed by my son Andrew. As a cheeky teenager he would call me that if he was having trouble getting my attention! Every time, without fail, it would stop me in my tracks and I’d crack up laughing. The way he made it sound was so endearing. So it stuck. (Having said that… if anyone else tried it I might not be so amused… present company excepted of course!) grin. Aussie slang has a penchant for adding an “o” to the end of names… particularly surnames. It does add a dorky element! But I think Jeano is quite unique. I use it on my cartoons because it is whimsical and fun. And we can all use a bit whimsy in our lives I think… LOL
Jools I can’t wait for that big needle to come next Thursday… one week from today (!)… not because I want you to have it… but because I know how much relief you are going to feel once you do. Yep… things are changing… like they always do. Sometimes it comes in almost imperceptible increments… and sometimes it gets dumped by the truckload. But we are “all good” aren’t we? Yes we are all (definitely) very very good! LOL Take care my friend.
Welcome back… love the cartoon…yay to 2009! Your spirited response will surely bring in the goodies.
Oh so good to have you back Jean! I have missed your insights and upbeat reflections on living. You seem to persevere…even in the harsh winds of change…which is why I have you “anchored” in my blog favorites. You are an inspiration to life and its multi-faceted dimensions!
Thanks Joh…
So glad you liked the cartoon! I looked at it after I finished it and went “what the?” But I think it’s okay. (grin)
Hey Mary…
I missed you. Thank you so much for your ongoing kindness and encouragement. I appreciate it more than you could know!
Hey Jean..had to share some massive changes that have happened in the environment, right here!
A few days ago,Claire and I ventured down to our favourite beach (after a big storm there is always a smorgas board for beach combing). Our normally gorgeous, clean and open beach had changed! Where once was crystal clean sand, laid mountains of rotting seaweed and the normally glass like rock pools where you could visit the bottom of the ocean in 1 foot of water were clogged with dirty foam..a legacy of the big surf that must have been pounding the coastline. But the biggest change was the actual formation of our precious beach. Along the shoreline, were two freshwater creeks…lined with beautiful smooth black pebbles, met the ocean. These two streams are now estuaries lined by cliffs of sand – the transformation was unbelievable! As Claire and I absorbed the phenomenon that was before us, other beach walkers around us, were just as dazed by what we could see. The mouths of these once small flows of water were enormous and could even be treacherous to cross. The cliffs where up to three feet in height and the edges unpredictable (some were hard like concrete, others were crumbling and unstable). It was like visiting a new beach. The other profound discovery was the body of a baby dolphin. The poor little creature had only just been born, umbilical cord still attached. Its my guess that the dolphin had been born during the storm (the mother had more than likely come close to shore to give birth during the raging seas) and was washed up by huge waves. It broke mine and Claires heart to see the almost mythical creature, lifeless. I dragged the baby back to a deeper rockpool and hoped it would be taken back out to the ocean, I could not leave it where it was..so alone and on show. The whole experience was quite disturbing, yet it was an amazing thing to see just how much change does go on..everywhere!
What an amazing experience Jools! So sad about the dolphin. It seems so cruel… but nature can be cruel (and unpredictable).
We humans think we are “in control” but we really aren’t. When push comes to shove… if we are living on this planet… we are subject to it. The recent bushfires are a tragic example of that… and to a lesser degree… the discovery of two new creeks running through your beach! How amazing it is. Either way nature has the upper hand (and the final word). She can be cruel… but she can also be nurturing and incredibly kind. Balance… always balance. It’s kind of perfect really… in an imperfect sort of way! And change is all part of it I guess
It is soo good to have you back Jean! Like others have said, I’ve missed you. Sorry you have had to endure unexpected and obviously uncomfortable change in your life, but as you know so well, change challenges us to grow. I wish for you that the outcome will find you even happier than you could imagine in the end. You are among friends here.
Thank you Anita
The tender words of support and encouragement from friends here has helped immeasurably. Life is so good with such people in the world.