Getting organised in the "NEW" Normal.

Wow a lot has happened since my last post, and things have changed considerably in my little part of the world.
Here in Christchurch, we are beginning to realise we are living with a new normal. A place where things that once mattered no longer do, places we used to visit no longer exist and people we know are no longer with us.
This new normal is cruel and surreal.
Impossible to describe, but difficult to ignore.
Things have changed, they changed a bit on 4th September 2010, when we had the 7.1 Magnitude Quake. Little did we know that that was a dress rehearsal for what was to be a destructive and devastating 6.3 magnitude quake.
You hear comparisons between ours and other quakes. I have even heard it said "It was only 6.3....", what is not said is that it was centered less than 5 km's from the city at a depth of only 5km. It was short, sharp and immensely violent.

One of the places I found myself helping on 22/2/11

I was in my car when it struck, and awnings of shops were at eye level for me as my car bucked up and the pavements went down, pedestrians were knocked off their feet and buildings collapsed indiscriminately ending lives and destroying futures.
That day my 15 years of previously working as an Emergency Room RN came back to me like I had never left the profession. I like many in Christchurch wore the blood of others and witnessed the passing of many. Somethings can be washed off others can never be erased.
I am not an RN anymore, I am a Professional Organiser, and I am wondering whether that is important anymore. I have had days where I think my business is the whimsy of a bored mother and housewife, and maybe I should throw it all in and become a coffee Mum.
Yet this past weekend I went up into the mountains with my family, we had some much needed time away from the new normal. I had time to lay in the grass and think. What struck me was that this new normal is an amazing and rarely experience opportunity to really make a difference.
We have a city that needs to be rebuilt, we have lives that need to be healed and we have businesses that need to be helped and nurtured back into success. Who better to be part of this than a Professional Organiser.
So many are beginning with a clean slate, so why not begin with a successfully productive and organised future in mind. This is what I now know, this is my business, my profession, my expertise and I am damn good at it. This is the perfect time for businesses to invest in a lean, productive and profitable future move forward in a constructive and engaged way that can only bring a positive impact the the new normal.
I now know that my business is not a whim, but a valuable, motivating, inspired and aspirational service that can help many cope and grow in this new normal that is Christchurch. The lessons we are learning every day will be invaluable to share on a global scale as time moves forward and I for one am going to be there and stand proud in this new normal.
I AM PROUD TO OWN A CHRISTCHURCH BUSINESS AND BE THERE TO HELP IN THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THIS MAGNIFICENT CITY.

A new dawn in the NEW normal