Realignment

It's March. We're still in the first quarter of the second decade, of the new millennium and so far 2011 has been unstoppable. Whether it is revolutions or natural disasters, the world is changing. Perspectives have changed. Sands have shifted. In the desert of constant familiarity where injustice or comfort, despair or security, tyranny or a feigned sense of superiority lived for years, decades at a time, the sands of that desert have now shifted. A realignment is needed - most of all within.

I watched in horror as a tsunami swept across Japan. The water just devoured everything in its way. It showed no mercy and it brought to my mind a scene from the Day of Judgment. I had been so caught up in the revolution in Egypt that it jolted me back to a fragile world. The world we all share and live in. This temporary world where we continue to charge through or survive, whichever way you may choose to, on a daily basis. A world where we are given a temporary feeling of being in control but then all of a sudden something happens and reminds you how small and fragile you really are. 

Water. It quenches your thirst but yesterday it was a destructive power obeying the will of God. It made me think of the double-edged swords that we each hold in our lives. The blessings that can suddenly turn into curses if we get carried away for longer than a moment and forget or choose to turn a blind eye to The One who was gracious enough to grant us all these blessings in the first place. 

Then there is the revolution(s) that is(are) sweeping across the Middle East at the moment. Rulers who never imagined that the day would come when they would be overthrown by the power of the people came to see that day. Power that had been in these rulers' hands for years, for decades, was transferred to the people, almost overnight. Without warning. Just like a natural disaster that strikes without warning.

History is filled with such stories and lessons. History does repeat itself to the masses.

It really is time to reflect on all what is happening and to tap into my own life. What blessings do I have that I have failed to acknowledge and be grateful for? What have I taken for granted? What have I stood before so stubbornly and what have I focused on so dearly at the expense of that which really matters? Life is short and if any a valuable lesson is to be learnt from 2011 (so far) it is that I do need to ask these important questions. Most of all, I do need to find their answers.

I feel a new world forming before my eyes. I sense new beginnings and new lessons to be learnt. 2011 is going to be a year that defines a new world order. The tragic shifting of land masses as what happened with Japan along with a positive shifting in stereotypes. New attitudes. New beginnings. New perspectives. And the only way to grasp all that is new and all what this year and the coming decade has to give, is to realign ourselves and be prepared to realign our lives.