Coping with changes in our life

I have mentioned the BBC 4 programme, Soul Music, before. This week I listened to Landside by Stevie Nicks. She wrote the song when she was 26 and was struggling with her relationship and what to do with her life. She refers to being afraid of change but also realises that she is becoming bolder as she gets older.

The lyrics of a song will be interpreted differently by each person. The significance of the words will lie in our experiences and how we have reacted to them. We can take solace from the words, take them as a wake-up call, they can be a motivation for change, or a reassurance that we all go through uncertainty in life, having to decide which path to take.

The image of a landslide can be violent - it comes crashing down without warning, sometimes destroying, but always changing the landscape. So when someone close to us dies, when a relationship ends, when we face an empty nest or lose a job, we have to cope with that change - we don't have any choice. Changes are an inevitable part of life - we will have different phases or seasons of life. We may not be prepared and we may question whether we have the skills to survive. What we need to recognise is that others have faced similar tragedies, choices and decisions - and have managed somehow to get through. Just that can help sometimes - knowing that we are not alone.