I'm going to mean what I say here. Or say what I mean. Or say something... Which is in this blog post, to not say anything about earthquakes for a change. The E word will not be mentioned here today- ( see my last blog post, if you are not from around here and are wondering what I'm on about.....) 

I wanted to mention a couple of extra things about positivity and happiness, but especially happiness. I've mentioned these before, because they are so important.  In a problem-saturated world (or may be it's not so much the world that is problem-saturated, but our conversations with each other), it is so easy to focus on the negative, on what is not going right. This is especially so for those of us living in an environment that had been completely devastated by you-know-what.  Yet in amongst it all, there are still some amazing people who are not just resilient, but are  also very happy. Even though they have been exposed to as much of the devastation from those- ground-shaking-thingies as the rest of us, they are surprisingly upbeat.

Happiness or optimism, or whatever we want to call it, can seem an elusive state at times. Easily achieved on one hand, yet on other occasions feeling like it is unattainable. And in a world that is driven by consumerism, it is so easy to think that the source of happiness is somewhere in there, in amongst the purchasing and the upsizing and the  relentless striving for self-improvement. But it is actually a lot more  simple and more accessible than that.

A big question is therefore about whether or not money can buy happiness. Well, yes it does. But also, no it doesn't.  What this means is that It can help with your levels of happiness if you have absolutely none of the basic essentials of life. But  after having your basic material needs met,  more money does not bring extra happiness. The enormous flat panel TV, the latest Ferrari even, and the money to buy them will give you a brief buzz for a short while only.  And if you want simple proof, ask yourself are your rich friends happier? And are the super-rich people of the world such as  Oprah or Bill Gates or Rupert Murdoch even happier still?  Especially not for Rupert Murdoch these days.... Once your income goes above the level of meeting your basic needs, it may then make your life a little more comfortable. But research shows that comfort  does not lead directly to happiness, but instead actually leads to boredom.

Speaking of happiness and money, our levels of happiness are likely to be higher, when we are around people (living near to, working with, socialising with, etc) with similar amounts of money, regardless of how much money that actually is. People who are  happier are likely to also live in closer proximity to family and friends.  They will be less likely to move away to take up promotions or exciting new jobs, because they know that they are happier by being around people who are important to them.

So if happiness is not about having more money, or more expensive stuff, what else is it about? Well, what is also important  is how we view the world. Specifically, this means when hard things happen to us, how  we will respond, or how will we view these hard things. Because in the end, the thing that happened becomes a difficulty or a source of unhappiness, because that is how we have chosen to view it. Sure. hard things happen, with the ''E word' being a good example. OK, so such events may not have actually made many people  happy. Yet there are some folks who have not been overwhelmed by them, who have faced the challenges from them head-on, and will ultimately come out as being more competent, more resourceful, and yes, even maybe more happy. The only difference, is attitude, or how they have viewed the event. The very same event  that the other person viewed in a way that then caused them to feel overwhelmed by.


How we choose to look at life and events is so crucial to our own sense of self....

Phew- it sure was a rocky old night last night. I checked the Geonet website this morning to discover there had been no less than 8 'quakes during the night. Some people out in the largely untouched western suburbs even lost power for a while. Poor them...

Like most folks- I'm heartily sick of all the quakes and all they bring, but of course continuing with life, as there are no real alternatives.  As most folks in Christchurch will also attest- there is only one conversation in town these days. It's an important conversation, and it's one that helps make sense of things, helps us process our own responses, and ultimately  helps us to also move forward, so its an important conversation to keep having with those around us. 

Sometimes though, it's not always a helpful conversation. What I'm meaning is that there are going to be days (and yes, these days will increase in time)  when you might feel quite good, quite on top of things, and then suddenly you are again in the middle of The Conversation, then walking away from it when you are finished, and then noticing that you are no longer feeling so good after all.

This highlights to me again, the importance of monitoring our own levels of stress, and of being protective or ourselves. If you are having a good day, makes sure it stays that way, by minimising your involvement in in-depth conversations about heavy duty earthquake stuff. Ensure that there are even days when you have a little earthquake bubble around you, when no earthquake stuff can get through. In a practical sense, this might mean allocating yourself one day a week, when you do not participate in The Conversation. And if someone wants to talk about earthquake stuff, that you discreetly remove yourself, or you even state outright, that  today you are in your earthquake-free zone, and will not be joining The Conversation today.


Go Well! 

All this buzz about more big earthquakes on the way can be enough to put you off your Weetbix. These experts can be so annoying. They always seem to know so much after the event. Where were they before the September 4th quake? And how come they didn't bother to tell us that there would also be one on the February  22 that would decimate the city?  The reality is that no one knew about the 4th September before it happened. Absolutely no one... If you had asked  the seismologists back on the 3rd of  September to tell us about the major earthquake zones in the country- and when we could expect one to occur, none of them would have said, ''well tomorrow, and in Christchurch...''

To their credit- most of them said after September 4th, that there would be aftershocks (geniuses- every last one of them. No one else would have guessed this...). But again, no-one knew exactly where, when or to what depth, or magnitude etc. So again, there was not much to prepare us for February 22nd.

So, here we all are again, quivering and expecting a big quake to occur, because the media today has been full of this prediction. But again, the experts don't know exactly where it will be, when it will be, or how deep it will be, or if it will even happen at all.

It's the  one last thing we need right now. Well, there are two last things we don't need right now. People with some knowledge, making vague predictions. The other thing we don't need of course, is the actual earthquake/s. 

In the face of more earthquakes occurring we need to remember that since September, all of us  currently living in Christchurch have become heroes- we have not run away, we have carried on, we have had all kinds of losses to endure, whilst getting on with our lives. We have supported each other, we have drawn closer together. We have each given  strength and also taken strength from the actions of others.  We have still loved our flawed and utterly broken home town. And get on with our lives we have, in ways that none of us would never have imagined we were capable of doing, this time last year. Go us!

Introduce yourself to your local hero- go and look in a mirror right now.

To read some useful ideas for increasing your personal levels of resilience, have a look ri

The loss of the landmark ANZ chambers  (above- before and after) on High Street & Lichfield is but one of the dozens- even hundreds- of the heritage buildings in Christchurch that are gone forever. But, in the end, they are just buildings.

It's hard to believe that I have not written anything here for two months- wow! Doesn't time fly when you are having fun- or contending with earthquakes. For those readers (yes- even without new content, people have still been visiting this blog: amazing!) who do not live in this neck of the woods, we had yet another major earthquake, here in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22nd.  And there have been a whole bunch of the inevitable after-shocks. 

This time, there was wide-spread destruction and many people died. The city is in ruins, and is still in lock-down, and this will continue for some months yet. Thousands of people lost homes, many others lost work-places and jobs, and everyone has been impacted one way or another. But the State of Emergency has finally been lifted.


So as you can imagine, blogging goes out the window, and off the list of priorities. Things will never be as they were, there is still no real scope for what 'normal'may mean. But we are all slowly picking up the pieces. Well, the ones that aren't broken...

And in amongst it all, there is a re-appraisal by many folks as to what is important- attachment to material possessions seems to decrease, and even a shattered house  can be walked away from, when people remind themselves that they and their family members are alive and well. In addition there are new connections made, with others who have had similar experiences. It's been a time of loss- but it's also a time of moving forward, and of new beginnings, even though many folks don't know what is yet ahead, or what those beginnings may look like.

It reminds me of the importance of being aware of our own strengths. That although we have all been through an incredibly challenging two months, here we all are, this far down the track. And this has taken resilience, even courage for many people. It's easy to sometimes forget about personal strength, when we are continually reminded by the media of what has gone wrong, and when we see how damaged the city is. 

People have not always known what to do- there have been no rule books for negotiating this chaotic period we have been going through. And yet negotiate it  thus far we have. It's vital at times like this, that when people do feel over-whelmed, to remind themselves of how they have got through other hard times in their lives.  To focus less on the hard times that have been encountered, and more on our individual strengths. To know who are the people to choose to be around, when we need to feel more on top of things. And whilst the ''earthquake conversations'' will continue out of necessity for many months to come (sharing our experiences is part of the moving forward process, after all), we need to recognise our own tolerance for these, and know  the times when we also need to talk about other things.

As I've said, you will begin to know by now what works for you- keep doing it.

In the meantime, jump right over here to read about your local earthquake heroes...

We live in an age (I think, anyway) where we are frequently attuned to people stuffing up. With all of us devoting a lot of time to whining and complaining about each other. We have mostly been shaped and conditioned this way from early in our lives in a whole lot of different ways.  And it's everywhere around us. Television news, and newspaper headlines are about the negative stuff, the bad things. An occasional funny or  positive item will really jump out, because it will be so unusual. Good news in general does not sell- we are all too attuned to the hard stuff, the bleaker darker aspects of human behavior.


So when I say we need to focus on the good, on the positive, it probably seems a bit twee, a bit superficial, unrealistic even, because after all, we live in a world which is highly attuned to failures and to deficits, such is human nature. And by just being more positive yourself- is that really likely to change the world? Maybe not- but it could certainly begin to change your world- and the worlds of those people you interact with or relate to.  


Have a go- assign yourself one day over the coming week, when you will focus only on the positive actions of others. You will notice these- no matter how small, or how minor these actions may appear, and you will mention them to the person or people involved, by giving a compliment, or some other form of praise.  Sure, chances are you will see a lot of negative stuff too during your quest- but on this day, choose to overlook it, and remain with your positive focus.


At the end of that day- take five minutes to evaluate how it went; how do you feel in comparison to any other day, when you did not focus on the positive? What do you think it may have done for those people, who were on the receiving end of your positivity?
Would there be any usefulness in continuing with this? Or if it's something you already do quite naturally (lucky you), how could you convince others of the benefits of doing the same?