Inevitably for most of us, there are unexpected, certainly unwanted, interruptions in our retirement years. We had an email just this morning which bore the news that one of our young nephews is in ICU with a rare condition. Such news brings with it the sudden reality of our frailties, that of ourselves and others.
- The continuing climb in prices, certainly the impact on budgets of gasoline escalations, influences all our budgets, no matter that it comes to those necessities which help us enjoy our daily lives. We may not have accounted for such dramatic hits on our budgets. But, here is the reality, like it or not, gas and everything influenced by gas prices is rising in cost.
- Family disruptions, a divorce, a death, any sudden change brnigs with it its own consequences in our own life patterns. They are never planned, seldom anticipated, except in those who undergo long term terminal illness, and they abruptly shake our lives, much like the tsunami and earthquake of Japan.
- Disasters are another of those creeping transformations in our existence. Floods, fire, an avalanche, a sudden tornado all bring about inundations in our lives that would sink us instantly were we not lucky enough to have been prepared or away.

- None of us can be 100% ready for any of these sudden revolutions in our lives. Interruptions in normal life bring with them the ability to adjust, to acquiesce, to accommodate what comes. When the event is overwhelming, our abilities and readiness are all the more challenged.
- Finding ways to meet what comes is one of the keys to maturity. No matter where we are on life’s road, being able to deal with whatever we must face, will enable us to live a less threatened existence, a more balanced life. Such adjustments require one’s own examination of personality. Do I tend to the dramatic? Am I easily panicked ? Do I try to maintain equilibrium whatever comes along? Do I find it easy to encourage others to be calm, to keep their distance from overreacting? If I have cultivated the ease for doing these things with the small things, then I am likely to be more equipped to do so with the big ones.
- Looking at interruptions comes from being the kind of person whose strengths are greater than the temptation to weakness. Exercising the characteristics that help in dealing with interruptions will help problem solving when met with disasters, huge or small. Panic interferes with coping. Coping is a tool for keeping blood pressure low, anxiety at a minimum. Work at it and when the time comes for avoiding a disastrous response to disasters of any kind, you will be prepared.