Humans as well as most living beings tend to resist change. Why alter direction if life is running smoothly? There’s no point. Right? Instead of evaluating whether our existence could be better, inertia keeps us stuck in the same old patterns. Comfort trumps transformation. Until something moves us out of our familiar spaces, we shrug off the need for change. Then along comes an event so catastrophic that it forces us to rethink everything. It serves as the great reset to all we once considered normal.
I’ve heard a number of commentators refer to 2020 as ‘The Great Reset’. Without a doubt, it’s been the most life changing year I can remember. Yes, we’ve experienced many catastrophic events in the past such as 9/11 and hurricane Katrina that rocked our foundations. But these were sporadic, one time occurrences with breaks in between.
I dare say we’ve had no respite this year from challenging circumstances. The stress from the pandemic, racial unrest, raging wildfires and political division has been nonstop. Now another potentially life threatening hurricane is pounding the gulf states. People everywhere are on edge or simply worn out with it all. It’s difficult to understand why this is happening. Even more, what are we to do while sitting in the middle of this ongoing calamity?
Our present situation is much like a forest fire. Once it’s full blown it’s tough for firefighters to control. Thousands of acres of woodland can be consumed in a short amount of time. However, with efforts on many fronts, firefighters eventually contain the fire and douse the flames. But afterward the land appears charred, barren, and lifeless.
What happens next never ceases to amaze me. The ash from the burned plant matter adds beneficial nutrients to the soil. Some pine cones are heat dependent. They open after a fire, releasing their seeds that are then spread by the wind. As a result, tiny seedlings of pine trees sprout up through the blackened landscape. Out of the destruction, new life emerges.
Isn’t our human reality much the same? Just like the pinecones, the seeds of change release when exposed to the heat. Difficult circumstances push us to consider new ideas and reconsider old patterns. They force us to overcome our natural inertia to allow needed transformation.
During the pandemic, families all over America quarantined together. One friend confided that she worried her cooped up family members might kill each other that first week. But instead she saw benefits she never expected. Now her marriage is stronger. She knows and understands her children on a new level. Her family is reconsidering what activities they want to restart and which they leave behind when the pandemic is over. The quarantine gave them the opportunity to reset their priorities and make some changes for the future that will better their lives. What a blessing!
I never want to downplay the tragedy unfolding in our country this year. Certainly there is much to grieve and much to mourn. But never underestimate the power of the pause during ‘The Great Reset’. Use this opportunity wisely and prayerfully to rethink, revise and reset your own life for the better.
It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.
Kristin Armstrong-author of ‘Mile Markers: The 26.2 Most Important Reasons Why Women Run
Share with me what beneficial changes have occurred in 2020 or you plan to implement after this is all over? I would love to hear your thoughts.
