Sometimes seemingly unconnected things happen in parallel and you can't help but take notice.
I've just taken a few days off. We went away to catch up with friends and on arrival we arranged to meet for drinks. Sadly, ten minutes before we were due to meet, we took a call from our friend asking us to take him to A&E as he'd fallen ill. Wasn't expecting that! He had been on the phone just a few minutes earlier saying he was popping to the shops to get drinks. He's still in hospital having had a suspected heart attack out of the blue in the Co-op, but hopefully he's going to be fine.
The next day we met up with an old school friend and her husband for lunch. I've not seen her in probably 15 years - she had been busy having a family and somehow time has just passed by. She'd dropped me a note out of the blue and we arranged this date a few months back. Over a glass of pinot she told me that a few years ago she decided to head to university and retrain and that she was now a general practice nurse specialising in all things menopause. She smiled and told me that, at the ripe age of 47, she had finally found her calling. She's had lots of jobs over the years, including a period running her own business, but never settled in any of them. I told her I hadn't seen that coming and we laughed. Of course we are both much wiser than we were as teenagers, but I honestly still don't think she would have ever entertained the thought back then.
Yesterday I was back at work. I was booked as an associate to deliver a masterclass for a group of around 25 professionals. It was a brilliant event. It was the first time I'd been on my feet presenting for a while, having had a few months off, and I was secretly apprehensive that I might be a bit rusty but, as soon as I got beyond the first few words, that all fell away and it was great to have such an engaged and interested group of people.
During the day I spoke with a number of people who told me they had decided to change their careers quite radically. One had struggled with corporate life and one had got to breaking point before making a change. I also chatted with someone about the current pressures they faced and who was thankful for a days respite to catch their breath and think. They shared the information freely and unsolicited.
Last night, back at home, I finally took a minute to sit down and relax. In that moment of peace and quiet a common thread emerged from the 3 experiences.
Someone had a life changing experience and they didn't see it coming. They've been reminded of their own mortality, but perhaps they've been given another chance. A prompt to think about what, if anything, they can change for the better. Perhaps they will now see things through a different lens?
Someone else has proactively changed a lot, always in search but never finding what it is they felt they were meant to do. Then, when they were least expecting it, it came to them in a very different place and they've never looked back.
Others were compelled to change the status quo, not because of what they had wanted but because of what they didn't want. Some are perhaps on the cusp of making change for the same reason.
I've recently made a big change myself as some of you will know. However, I didn't change because I had no other choice, nor because I have never really found what I wanted to do or wasn't happy with my lot. For me I just wanted a new challenge and was fortunate enough to be in a position to try something different. I thought about what I wanted, weighed up a few options and decided to go for it! It's not irreversible, I don't know yet if it will be the last thing I do and maybe it won't work out, but for now it's what I have chosen.
My take out is that its easy to forget that you only have one life.
You can't always control what happens. There are things that happen that you would never have predicted; some are good, some not so good, but there are things that you can control.
Every day that you are on this planet you will have choices to make. I totally appreciate that some have it a lot easier than others and many can't just chose what they'd like to do; they do jobs they hate to keep their heads above water and to pay the bills, but there will always be things they can control.
If you can't solve a problem or find the solution right now, don't give up hope, just keep trying and searching and it'll come. Perhaps when you were least expecting it. Do what you can to have the life you want, the one that makes you happy and fulfilled.
Love this. Such great reflections and wise word.