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When I last left you, I was on my way down down the rabbit hole, landing soundly on my ankle, resulting in a secondary ankle sprain. Cast in a Darth Vader black boot and back into weekly
rounds of PT. My back reinjured in the fall, required more PT as well and a future MRI. There was more to come. I wrote it all down. I planned to tell you all about it. Page after page of bad luck, foul moods, and endless Why me? Why me? Why me? One fine day I resolved to be restored, only to sweep the porch and awaken a swarm of angry wasps. Sting sting sting. The day that happened I put down my pen. Instead I hit the replay button and rewound the tape over and over in my head so many times that there was no room at the inn for peace to get in. The forces of nature could not compete with the wild panicky stories I chanted over and over again. I literally could not see any forward progress toward recovery, until I decided I needed...
a Full System Restore.
Clear eyes. A new page. Our broken water logged house, now stands shiny and clean. New baseboards, shampooed carpets and touch up paint to hide the scratches and scars. The painter’s name? Angel.
The heavy rain and storms nurtured our new plants and landscape. The azaleas bloomed, the lime drop hydrangea vibrant and green smiling at the sun.
I began to restore as well. One morning before all the scary oh what will happen next thoughts invaded my skull, I stood and noticed my back did not hurt as I stood. So I warily did a full body scan of the physical premises as it were. Out of ankle boot, out of ankle cast I stood barefoot and wiggled my toes.
Better. Better. Better. Even a two week bout of bronchitis, down to a sniffle. After a Perfect Storm, there is always the possibility of Safe Harbor. And there is always a choice of thrashing around in the sea of misery, or bobbing gently on the waves, while your sea legs return, strong and ready to carry you back on shore. I have the deepest and most sincere compassion for those in Texas, who are focused on survival. Who cannot see the future, nor care to, as the devastation is so overwhelming. What I do know, is that this too shall pass. We are all connected by a life force, and a life of choice. To choose repetitive scary thoughts is no way to navigate out of disaster, or any challenge that may arise in life. Thoughts are illusions. Scary stories we tell ourselves, me too, when we try to control what we cannot. We cannot control the future, not even the next minute. We cannot even control our thoughts.
What we can do...
is practice letting thoughts come and then…
watching them go.
The result is a wonderful sense of peace. A gentle breath, a smile, and the beginning of hope.
Riding in the car, eyes always on the rear view mirror, retelling the past, what is now behind us, long gone, is a recipe for disaster. The best recipe for calming thoughts, is to hold out our hands and do our life’s work. To offer assistance, to build, to comfort, to simply be kind. To ourselves and to one another. Why me? keeps us on the bottom of the well with no way out. Saying the following to yourself first, and then to others is a one step at a time rise up the ladder towards sun once again on your face. How can I help? What do you need? Even a hug and a simple I love you, is the reassuring voice, that returns us to peace, to hope and the joy of another new day. Wherever you are, whatever challenges you are facing, I send you love from my heart, and the promise that… even in the middle of a Perfect Storm… This Too Shall Pass A message to the people of Texas in the path of Hurricane Harvey:
Finger Pointing©
….this is no time for criticism or blame. Miracles happen when we are not busy chattering and pointing fingers, but when we roll up our sleeves, extend our hands and say those magic words… How can I help? I have been watching you. We all have. Helping each other up. In the worst conditions. So many acts of kindness, love and concern with no fear for one’s own personal safety is a potent lesson to us all, featuring humanity at its finest. Labels: challenges, hope, Hurricane Harvey, peace, scary thoughts, the Perfect Storm
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