by Cara Lumen
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it – this unusual period in our history when money is funny, jobs go away and the future looks uncertain? Are you getting discouraged? Do you have a hard time staying positive and hopeful? What can you do to see a bright side – the light at the end of the tunnel?
Look for the good in everything
Let’s see, maybe these past two years have seen you learn a new skill in order to get a different job. And although that was scary and you went through a lot of stress over choosing what skill to learn and what job to seek, you’ve done it and you are in a job that is better suited for you and more rewarding than if you hadn’t gone through the challenge of being laid off or needing to move on.
During the course of these odd economical times you have reassessed what is important to you. You are no longer buying all the stuff you used to. You have cut back. You have lightened up which feels marvelous. You are learning to cook again, to make economical dishes from scratch, and you are teaching your children these new thrifty skills. That feels like a positive result.
You stay home more so you have had to make your own fun. That means you have had friends over, or made a game night with your children, or watched a DVD together. It means you have gone on picnics and walks in the woods and camped overnight in your back yard. Those have been fun times haven’t they?
You had to move to a smaller home so you got to throw away a lot of things you really don’t need and the relief of being able to afford to pay your bills because of the move is tremendous.
Those choices are all positive. They are all about rethinking our values, ceasing to be consumer junkies, and finding friendship and nurturing with our friends and family. It’s about returning to a basic life style where human interaction is the cornerstone. That’s all good stuff.
What if there is a boulder in the way?
Sometimes we don’t get what we want because it would keep us from being available for the next big thing that is coming our way but hasn’t had time to arrive yet.
If there is a boulder in the way you find another path.
I’m moving and I started collecting things for Good Will in the middle of my breakfast room. And the pile sat there and sat there and I worried about how to get it down the steps into my car. At this point in time I can’t walk down steps without holding on and that makes carrying things tricky. But the day I finally moved the bags two things happened, when I lifted them one at a time they were not as heavy as I had decided they must be after putting it off all that time and I found another way to get them down the steps – I backed myself down and lifted the bags down one step at a time until I got them to my car. And did I ever feel smug!!!! I had done it, that huge perceived boulder had been chopped up into smaller pieces and I had moved it aside. And my lesson was that I can do that for everything!!! Take smaller steps and figure out new ways to get the job done!
Listen to your Inner Voice
There is one place from which to get guidance and comfort – that is within. In the moments you create of silence and contemplation, the universal wisdom you hold within you can be heard. You may need to journal, you may need to meditate, you may need to listen to the signs and signals that come up every day, but the guidance is there.
I’ve had about a year of listening. I listened to my inner voice when I decided in two hours that it was time to move from California to Kansas City. I keep listening to my inner voice as I’ve dealt with two knee surgeries which took my focus from my business and the business changed. I struggled with my inner wisdom when I resisted this next move and the reality that made it important that I do it. And I’m still listening because I’m being called to adjust what I offer others and that is not yet clearly defined.
The answers are there – within. They are in the idea that presents itself, the conversation you hear that suddenly gives you the answer you’ve been seeking, and in the opportunity that presents itself and the doors that close in your face. We each have a journey that only we are to take, a gift that only we are to give. Our job is to listen within for our guidance.
Change is good
This is a period of change and change is good. And change is stressful. And change is exciting. Be flexible. Be open. Be innovative. Question everything. Get really clear about your core values – what’s really important to you in your life – and make choices that honor those.
Look upon this as an adventure. Take it as an opportunity to help others through service. Look for new paths to take, new places to explore, now horizons to seek. Look for the good among the boulders – the plant growing in the cracks, the bird making its nest among the crags, the good life that is waiting for you regardless of how rocky it looks. When you look for the positive you will see the positive.
©2010 Cara Lumen
