When Difficulty Strikes, WHO WILL YOU BE?
March 5, 2015
This month in particular it seems I’m having conversations with individuals who are experiencing one tough situation after another without much air to breathe in-between. Been there? I have. When you’re the observer, it’s difficult to find the right words that will provide comfort, and oftentimes all we can do is listen and “be there”.
I can recall times like these for myself and I can say that I’m never truly looking for answers from others, just an empathetic ear, and maybe a few good hugs! Hopefully, each of us has a few individuals in our lives who can provide this kind of support as we work things out and move forward.
As the receiver of such difficult times, though, how can we help ourselves? When you’re smack in the middle of it, it can feel like the earth is going to rise and swallow you up, or a tidal wave is approaching to sweep you away. I know… tough visual, but the feelings are real. Perhaps there is fear. Perhaps there is exhaustion. Perhaps there is loneliness. Perhaps there is anger.
A few of the individuals I’ve spoken with this month have commented:
- “You can’t give up when life gets tough.”
- “I have to shift my energy from fear to excitement.”
- “I have to complain about this and now let it go.”
I love hearing comments like this because they all SHIFT UP —away from the yucky feelings and thoughts and up toward hope!
Hope is a quality of spirituality! Yes, we can look to our spirituality to get us past the pain and into the light. Other qualities of spirituality include:
- Trust and knowing (in a power outside of you to make things better)
- Joy and gratitude (look at what’s good despite the bad)
- Connection (those hugs and listening ears help!)
- Giving (helping others even when we can’t help ourselves)
What would you add to this list?
What spiritual qualities or characteristics have helped you during tough times?
One of my favorite spiritual principals is: You either grow or die! It sounds horrible, I know, but it’s so true. I feel that we live each day to grow; to undergo experiences—both good and bad— to help us evolve into better human beings. If we are not evolving, we are not living, and if we are not living, well we are ________! Fill in the blank! Let’s get busy living!
I hope this short blog will get you to thinking about what spiritual principals you lean on during those not so great times that challenge you.
I’ll close by sharing this message I read this week by Karen Berg. I love it because it helps us understand that there is always more than meets the eye, and that when we experience anything, there is a purpose behind it — spirituality at it’s best.
For me, certainty means one thing. I know that the things that happen in my life – however difficult they may be – are part of
a grander plan: a Hand that is pushing me in a direction, whether or not I acknowledge it, whether or not I want to go there.
We are put in this world with an assigned spiritual role, and we will get knocked around by the universe until we wake up to
it.
I know a person who got shot and nearly died, had heart disease and nearly died, got cancer and nearly died. But he is still here, which means there is still something he still needs to do in this life. He keeps getting slammed and getting saved because he has a spiritual role in this world, some spiritual work that he has yet to complete.
For me, certainty is knowing that the cosmos is always pushing us to reveal our potential and to become who we need to be.
When that difficulty strikes, WHO WILL YOU BE?
It’s a juicy question! Have fun pondering it.
Namaste,
Monique
Illumined Life Leadership 