Reflections 24th May

Being Ready for Suddenly

In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway has one of his characters asked how he went bankrupt. His answer?: Gradually, then suddenly.

The line has been repeated often enough to have worn a little smooth, and become so familiar it is easy to dismiss, but the structure that underlies it remains fresh, because change does not pause. It is how most large changes arrive: an accumulation of small shifts that go uncounted because each one is small, followed by a moment in which the cumulative weight becomes undeniable.

By the time the suddenly arrives, it’s normally a done deal; we have to accept it and move on rather than fight it. Like grief, it’s a hard road to travel.

We are surrounded at the moment by suddenlies of different sizes and at different scales. Some are personal. We get older knowing perfectly well what is coming, and we still find ourselves avoiding the discussions that would help those affected, as well as us.

People in mid-career are discovering that careers, as their parents understo…