I live a pretty rural area. Some might consider it cosmopolitan but with under 20,000 residents I consider it rural! One of the things I like best about running a home business is being able to jump in the car and run errands on a whim. I just came back from running to the store and post office. The rain was pouring down so I had to dart about -- but the good thing about downpours is that I'm practically the only person in the places I go into so no lines to contend with!
On my way out of the mini plaza where I was, I noticed a little store with lots of "sale" signs. One big one read "Close out sale". Being a former small business operator (of the brick and mortar type) I know the pressures and pitfalls of small businesses in a changing market. This little store rents videos, but of course with Netflix, I can understand there is little room for the family owned small business and why they might be closing down.
The sadness I feel is not unlike what families might feel when someone they love is diagnosed with emotional illness. No matter whether it is depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder etc.. sadness can permeate the family. The old store (or the "former" personality) may be long gone and you feel a longing for better days before the illness was diagnosed. I feel that way about this little store too...... I want things to stay the same but I know they never do and the harder I try to grasp at the "old" ways the more they seem to slip away. Seems the same is true of a family member who suffers from mental illness. The more you yearn for and try to keep the "old" person with you the more dramatic the change can be. Embrace the new situation and yes, of course be sad but know that change is inevitable and the world keeps evolving and we must too in order to thrive instead of just survive. Try to reach out, talk about it, ask for support, know that "this too shall pass" and out of this difficult time a new life will emerge.
And like my little store that is closing, I may not like what replaces it or how I heretofore must purchase videos, but there is something positive that change brings. It forces me to get out of my comfort zone and wake myself up to appreciate all that I do have.
My membership site can be a great place to start. There is a free membership waiting for you........
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