'IT'S HAPPENING' (Introduction to series)

(We were warned)

LIVE WELL IN TURBULENT TIMES Introduction to series 1

Silence. A heavy silence.

A small group of friends meet every month to talk, to listen, to think about the meaning of things:

Sam pierces the silence: ‘It’s happening’.

Chris ‘Yes I knew it would, one day. That day has come. IT’S HAPPENING. THIS IS IT.

I was part of that conversation, in November last year. It was chilling. That was the moment I realised that our already turbulent times were about to become even more turbulent. And also that it would probably be that way for the rest of my life.

If I had the power of a politician, of a leader of a big organisation, of some big-time player on the world stage, I could do my best to wield that power for good to help people to navigate the turbulent wild waters washing around us all.

But I am none of those things. I am a 75-year-old guy who is gradually retiring from a long career working in and for civil society - and whose vocation continues. Idly standing by is not an option for me.

I started to think about how I could live well, really live fully and well, while accepting that yes ‘It’s happening’. That’s the impulse and driver and genesis of this, my first Substack series.

I refuse to allow powerful forces, which I am subjected to and which I cannot combat, to rob me of my power to act; I will find a way to live well, in spite of it all, maybe because of it all.

I look around to see how people are reacting. I see a mix of: I’m looking away / I feel a dull ache / I think I’ve gone numb / Put my head down and get on with my stuff / I’m worried / I’m too tired to do anything / I don’t have time to think about it / I don’t know what to think / Look there’s a nice bit of good news / Come on, it might turn out OK after all / The pendulum will swing back again, always does.

Occasionally ‘ Oh stop going on about it, just get on with life, you’re over-thinking everything.

A few people tell me what’s helping them to live well: ‘it’s this weekly community gathering that keeps me going’ / ‘I’m storing water, rice and beans’ / ‘I go for walks’ / ‘I’ve stopped looking at TV news, too horrible’ / …

Over the dark days of winter from November to UK spring days, I have been thinking about how I can live well. How could I not only accept what I cannot change but also fully embrace it? Could I find a way of growing some good stuff from all the bad stuff that’s happening?

In this, my first series of 10 articles, for which this is an introduction, I share what I am doing to support my desire to live well. The first three articles, (to be published Wednesdays 23^rd, 30^th April and 7^th May) lay the ground for the seven things which I am doing to try to live well. For the following seven weeks, (14^th May to the end of June), I’ll dive into each one.

I am writing them to be read in the order which I am publishing them; each one builds on the previous. That said you are, of course, free to read them in whatever order works best for you.

Why do I bother to write? Because sharing my stuff helps me get my thinking clear, strengthens my resolve to try to live in spite of it all; also it feels good.

Why should you bother to read? Because you might discover something that’s helpful for you. (I hope so).

Next article 23rd April ‘Hello, how are you? Fine Thanks. Really?’

This Live Well in Turbulent Times series accompanies the best seller and idiosyncratic novel business book ‘Good Leaders in Turbulent Times: How to Navigate Wild Waters at Work’ and is packed full of practical advice for leaders going through crises and emerging stronger. Act on the nuggets of advice that shine for you..