Life-Changing Events

What events in history or in the present have forced people to change their lives completely? How do people cope with hardships that require enormous changes in their lives? Have you ever experienced an event that made a sudden and significant change in your life? If so, describe the event and how it changed your life. If not, imagine how you might react to such an event.

What events in history have forced people to make a change? That's not a hard question to answer. most of history is involving change - a change in thinking, a change in a pattern, anything that causes the status-quo to shift and the world to become altered. When the Japanese-American internment occurred in 1942, countless families of Japanese descent were force to adjust to new surroundings and later, the consequences of the internment. Households across American and the world were forced to live on limited amounts of food. Men were drafted into the armed forces, leaving families behind.

In China around this time, the Chinese Civil War raged on. To make matters worse for the citizens of the Republic of China, Japan was also launching invasions onto the Chinese mainland. The Rape of Nanking occurred in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese war raged on, striking fear and resentments in the hearts of many Chinese people.

When the ROC retreated to Taiwan, the native Taiwanese inhabitants felt oppressed as the government immediately took control of the island, changing their lives forever.

History is filled with life-changing moments. They also occur on a small scale to individuals.

So how do people cope to hardships associated with change? I think I have talked about this before. Most people start out with grief and self-pity. But as time goes by they begin to realize and accept the situation. Some people never leave the grief stage, while other jump ahead to quickly without realizing what they are facing.

A sudden and significant change? ... Apart from establishing myself into a religion, nothing else has happened that is totally significant. When one does happen, though, I expect myself to have a rational mindset. I will acknowledge what I am stepping into, what I am leaving. I will grieve if necessary, and make peace if necessary. The main thing, though, is to honor the past and step into the present.