One of the great strengths of the human psyche is its ability to create structures where there appears to be chaos, to build shelter in a storm of metaphorical proportion, and raise walls in the perceived world which are duplicated in physical form around us. The walls of our houses go up, and we count on them to protect us. Lines are inscribed around social circles – a church, an activity group, friendships – and we rest in the circle of their arms. We discover what works within the flow of work and daily living, and by repetition create patterns of behavior that demand less and less of our attention, that we lean on as we lean against a tree or feel solid ground beneath a footstep. Rote is rest, allowing us to give energy and strength to the challenges of the day.

But what happens when a frame we have created no longer holds a picture? A life partner dies, and with his or her passing the daily ritual, the habitual, and the support also leave. A job you held for years is suddenly taken away from you, and the social network it contained dissipates. The economy collapses, in one of those cyclical slow declines that history predicted, so the loan you took on your home during those boom years can no longer be maintained. Or perhaps you face a health problem which forces a change in diet, in practice, in hope. Your framed picture dissolves into the beautiful, alarming, empty horizon, and if you are prone to panic, the overwhelming smallness of your humanity can debilitate you.

If you have been paying attention, it's not the first time, nor will it be the last.