The past week was curious, to say the least. On Monday I was at a meeting of mums discussing the safety and protection of our children, and I heard some harrowing stories about how people we trust harm our children.

Then on Tuesday the German Wings crash happened in France, and on Thursday we heard that it was brought down ‘deliberately’ by one of the people to whom the passengers and crew had entrusted their safety.

In the same week I was at meetings to support someone whose dad has terminal cancer, and another whose brother is hospitalised. It was also the week that women parliamentarians in Kenya were up in arms after one of them accused a colleague of sexual harassment while they were visiting a foreign country. In the same period, the police began an investigation into allegations that another male Member of Parliament had raped a business partner, wife of his friend.  Obviously a lot more happened last week, but, somehow, these incidents stood out for me in a more than casual way.

They got me thinking about how life happens, with or without you, to you or to someone else. And whether we like it or not, there are things we just don’t control, and the best we can do is keep moving until we get a sign that we can stop. Or, perhaps, we need to stop until we get a sign that we should start moving again.The week  reminded me that life is made up of fleeting moments, and each moment should be savoured for itself.

When it is raining where you are, it is shining somewhere else, because it does not rain everywhere at the same time. Sometimes you get to walk through the rain until you cross to the side that’s dry, but sometimes you just cannot get out of it.  All the same, you know it will stop raining. On occasion, though, you just can’t seem to remember that.

So wherever life has got you today, know that the situation will change. Just open yourself up to read the sign when it appears.