So easy

Just one slip

And away your life goes

Suddenly your emotions are frazzled

You can think of nothing else

And what am I talking about?

You lost your wallet

Which is hardly the end of the world but changes your functioning from secure to stressed in the blink of an eye when you discover that it has gone

It is completely debilitating in rather a savage way.

Until something like this happens you are cushioned from the fact that there is only the tiniest line that separates you being a functioning person from being one who is totally incapacitated.

That tiny line basically consists of several pieces of plastic:

Without this plastic you can’t get cash out. 

You can’t pay for anything.

You can’t go anywhere unless it’s within walking distance or you have a car with petrol in it 

You can’t consume anything when you get there, except with whatever small change you had lying around 

For some banks like Barclay's you cannot even get onto online banking because their systems require that you have that card you lost 

It's at times like this where the fragility of everything that we take for granted is exposed

It is quite disconcerting to realise that the only thing that gave us that illusion of security is a credit or debit card

Without these our modern world and life falls apart

Our smoothly organised routine goes out the window

Enter the hassle of replacing them

The time it takes

The endless call centre routines to be negotiated

For sure you will have all your card details available sensibly backed up for just such an emergency

Won't you?

The emotional stuff is also something we can prepare for

Having what we want when we want it is a modern world convenience

For many this is not their experience of life

They have to wait and be patient just to get or obtain things we take for granted

So when you lose your cards deep breath and let go

No frustration please

A recognition that you will adjust to this new time with calmness and acceptance

So why the stress?

Why the awful feeling?

Wound too tight

Let go life will move on

Whatever your loss it was only 'things'

Physical things

Deep breath and smile it was not your health, not a car crash or some other nasty accident

Just a cold shower

A disruption to your perfectly organised life, that's all

Use it to grow beyond a panic about things

So easy

So easy to protect yourself in different ways from this upset and stress, fear even