Got a piercing message from a librarian laid off yesterday, and she lives alone with a dog and a cat, and has never been out of work before. And she was terrified, worried in part about her animals, and whether she could care for them. I’ve gotten quite a few messages like that in the past year, and I told her that as frightening as it is, people survive. They change their lives, find different work, move on. I look forward to getting such a message from her in a month or so.
  Given the opportunity, I see that many people change their lives in positive ways when their circumstances change. It is frightening, I know, but I believe these moments are also opportunities. To face ourselves, make changes, try different things.
  A lot of people I know who were frightened and shaken last year are happier now, in many ways. One teacher who was laid off has opened a crafts shop and is happily selling yarn. We can’t control life, only our response to it. Much in my life is changing. I am eager to face it, to live more simply and creatively. And to make more space for what is meaningful in life: love, work, family,  friendship.