Dealing with Life’s Challenges
There are several people in my immediate inner circle who are experiencing difficult life challenges – and it is heartbreaking to me. When it is someone we love – dear friend, spouse, parent, child – it feels devastating. We try to search and question the Universe for a why? Why would a Loving, Caring Source bring these challenges to someone we care so deeply about – who we think just doesn’t deserve it.
Decades ago, I experienced survival from multiple deadly addictions, long term health issues that ended in bankruptcy, years of living with life-stopping chronic pain, trauma from a loved one’s mental health issues, heart breaking loss of love and divorce, and cancer. Luckily these traumas did not happen all at once! When I was going through these overwhelming experiences, I didn’t ask why. I asked for strength from Source to get to the other side, and Peace through the storm. I had to daily keep surrendering to my powerlessness. In retrospect, each experience helped my Soul grow but in the middle of these times, it felt like torture that sometimes I didn’t think I could endure.
As I was going through these challenges, I felt desperate and did not know that things would be okay – that I would be okay. I had to have blind faith. When we are in the middle of a life crisis, it feels frightening no matter how many supporters and prayers we have. It feels pretty terrible for the one suffering, and the ones trying to love and support. With our personal traumas or pain, we soldier through because the pain itself keeps us in the present moment. It is a lone experience of the Soul. When it is happening to you, there is no choice but to accept the experience.
But no matter how much you have been through yourself, when you see someone you love suffering, it is heart wrenching. We can’t make them feel better or different. Our human condition – or at least this human’s conditioning – is to be a doer when things are not working. For the people I love who are struggling, I want to do something to fix it. And somethings we cannot fix. We can only be a loving, supportive observer.
The hope filled message for me is that on the other side of my challenging life experiences, I was gifted with Forgiveness, and Compassion, and Freedom, and Purpose. Right now, I am practicing staying present, and optimistically available to those I love. No doubt sometime in the future, I will look back to see and feel, the full positive that came from what I am experiencing now. I wish that for you too.
Centered Action:
We have no idea what is on the other side of our, or another’s life challenge. We can be angry, and sometimes we must be angry to get that out of the way. When we are surrendered, there is nothing else to do but let go and accept, what might be, or what might not be. There we can find the Willingness to be Present for this moment in time – whatever the experience brings. That allows us to experience Love and Compassion with ourselves and with others, to hold us up.
To our Health and Well Being!!
If you feel this message would be useful to someone you know, please forward it to them.
Keep the Faith. Clean up the messes in Your Path. Give to Someone Else.
And Be Your Most Magnificent Self…
Jody Drexler