Extinctions

35 Marbles
    It’s post Christmas for me and it’s time to be more aware of where my money is going. Time to make a list of all the things that bring me joy but don’t require cash outlays.  One of my favorite of these pastimes is listening to audio books from the library.  Currently, I’m listening to Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” It’s something that I may have fallen asleep to during high school, but twenty something years later, I find it fascinating (my kids, not so much).
    Bryson describes our start as a single cell growing into bodies with 10,000 trillion cells, each with it’s own purpose, independent of our wills.  Our bodies function without us having to schedule them - when we’re hurt or sick, our bodies move towards healing. There are so many things going on in my body outside of my control and somehow as a mother of three with a few balls in the air, this idea calms me.
    I also take comfort in knowing that from a scientific standpoint it’s complete happenchance that we’re here as humans at all.  In Bryson’s words, it’s only through, “timely extraterrestrial bangs and other random flukes.” But in that space between science and the world that I experience, I see a force shining through. The trick is to use this force to continue to create the life that I want to be living.
    Another area that piqued my interest is the five extinctions that life on Earth have experienced. The question is, how did the remaining life survive after the extinctions?  Perhaps by retreating to a safe place, by being aware, by making sure their offspring were okay, and by adjusting. And that’s how we all survive and thrive: by being able to adjust to change. 

If a breakup is like an extinction of the life that was there before, how have you adjusted? What can you do to allow for more resilience to change? If you are thriving post-breakup, can you appreciate your adaptability? Can you acknowledge the happiness you’ve created in your life?