'Learning to dance on a shifting carpet'

As the nights draw in, a lot of people in the UK experience a dip in mood and start booking winter breaks to foreign climes. I'm not one of them. There are things you get in winter that you just don't get any other time of year. I get to wear big, soft, roll neck jumpers. I get to splash in puddles in my welly boots. I get to watch flurries of autumn leaves fall and curl up by the fire with Harry Potter (there's still one I haven't read) and a glass of mulled wine. Mmmmmmm!Still, of course I can relate. But it's like with anything – if you learn to let go of something that's waning in your life (ie, memories of balmy summer days, a relationship, 'the way things were'), then you can more fully embrace what's real, now, ie, what's in front of you. And that makes for a more enjoyable life, n'est-ce pas?It reminds me of a poignant quote, I think it's from Nietzsche... 'We must learn to dance on a shifting carpet'. We're certainly getting some practice at that at the moment – in the UK, most notably with summer's Rupert Murdoch/ News International débâcle and last month's riots, but readers across the globe can probably confirm that things are no less character-forming in their own countries, though surface events may differ.And as I see it, as things shift and change - or fall apart - the challenge is to hold them lightly. It's unsettling, yes, but is there any real reason to try and preserve the status quo? After all, what's to come may be better! Of course, I'm not directing this to someone who's had their home burnt to the ground in an arson attack, but you get my meaning. And this is the same whether it's climate change you're facing, redundancy, or a marriage break-up. This video from 'Uncle Bruce' Lipton, which I discovered earlier today, says the same thing, in perhaps a few less words. And as I have a lot of time for his Biology of Belief, (though I'm not too sure about the soundtrack he uses on this video), I link to it here.From where I see it we need to become more resilient in the face of adversity - to learn to look at things differently. We need to learn to see our problems as challenges or even opportunities – and one sure way to do that is to learn to play with them.As my friend, laughter leader and terminal cancer survivor Kit Hammond Stapely (who has by the way survived both of her oncologists) once memorably said – and stop me if you've heard this one too many times, but I love it - 'anything you can laugh at, you can heal yourself from' (and she was speaking life events as well as illnesses here).And that's what I'll be saying to people I meet at the increasingly-popular Starting Over Show in Guildford on Thursday. Because as I see it learning to play with problems changes the energy around them... and paves the way for a solution.I'm leading a The Power of playing with your problems workshop in Guildford, Surrey on Sunday, October 2nd. Spaces are limited (a deposit secures your place). I've also got pairs of complimentary tickets for Thursday's Starting Over Show. If either of these appeal, you know where to find me!