I took the above photo on a shoot I got to do less than a week ago when the weather was sunny, warm and 75 balmy degrees still in November. Today - a mere 6 days later - the temperature are going to struggle to get out of the 40s. The world is a flutter with the polar vortex that has hit us hard, even in the south where the world "polar" isn't something you ever expect to hear unless you are speaking of an exhibit of bears at a regional zoo.
What strikes me as funny is that these dramatic changes occur daily. Often, there are huge shifts - in temperature, in moods, in sand patterns on the shore, and in behavior. Most likely, we know these changes are coming. But regardless of how prepared we are, we all still seem a little shocked and surprised when change really hits.
Maybe it's because change is uncomfortable in all it's definitions. It pushes us out of that cozy place we settled into - be it weather or behavior. When change is afoot, it seems that regardless of how prepared we were to begin with, it still knocks us off our feet for a minute, reeling with polar vortex-like discomfort.
Recently, I made some big changes - both professionally and personally. And although I knew they were coming, I still wasn't fully prepared. It was sort of like catching a falling bag of bricks...despite preparing for the worst, somehow the shock of their impact still knocked me off my feet.
I wonder if the benefit in preparing for change really is in how gracefully you get back up. It's also in seeing the signs of change before hand. The sands will still shift - regardless of how many fruitless barriers we try to put up. the best bet is to watch for the signs and simply brace for the impending impact.