Working with the Burden of a Crisis |

Working with the Burden of a Crisis

It’s hard to even give words to your upset, and you’re not sure you want to. It’s so private and yet the weight of your concerns is so present for you that it feels as if everyone can see something is going on with you anyway. You get good at answering, “oh, everything’s fine,” when you know it’s not.

I have a younger sister dealing with cancer right now. I go about my life and it’s like a wave crashing against my brain that this horrible disease has hit so close to home.

My family, all ten of us, are having emails fly between us. We all believe she’ll come out of it well - we do. Yet there are periodic reports that things are worse than we feared and our calm exteriors waver. We’ll know more in a few weeks after her surgery.

I know many folks deal with crisis that are happening or have happened, and you have to continue to work or carry on with daily activities.

Yesterday, another sister and I talked about hope and how much easier it is to have it when things are going well. There’s evidence all around you in the world that things don’t always turn out the best for folks. Our lives seem precarious and unexpected occurrences make us feel as if we’re not in control. But here are a few things I know are helping me to stay focused and optimistic:

1. Pray. Even if you don’t believe in God, something put you here on Earth, and there is a powerful universal force at work that can alter the course of your circumstances at any moment.

2. Believe. Have faith in a balance of nature beyond your imagination that is just and loving. All is right in this mindset and heartset that gives you the strength to face any obstacle.

3. Renew. Look for ways to cry, laugh, dance, do what you love and be grateful for it. Releasing pent-up emotions and tapping into joy, has a healing power.

4. Share Modestly. You need to share with others, but share with those you can trust. Folks can’t tell what is going on with you even though you think they can. So unless you’re prepared to answer lots of questions, talk with those you feel closest with and ask for them to listen without giving advice, or ask for words of support if you need them. This opening with a few can help you stay focused and present when you’re with others.

5. Send healing energy. Whether you believe in it or not, there are so many cases of people healing themselves and others, that you can’t deny the affect of all of us on each other. Imagine your situation or person (as I do my sister), and surround them with white light and specifically, the area of illness. See things clear, open and healed. Continue to send them this strengthening light.

6. Don’t Assume. You may be concerned or worried about something that’s happening or think you’ll never get over some crisis – but you will. That’s the resiliency of the human spirit. If you want to feel accepting of things, it’s available. Give yourself some quiet time to just be with your thoughts and emotions and let what comes up, come up. You’ll have a sense of peace that can guide you. Shift your attention to positive, new outcomes.

If you are experiencing extreme grief or have had a tragedy occur and you can’t seem to get on with your life, then you would do well to seek out a group of others who have had similar experiences. Enter “grief groups” into your Internet browser and you’ll see several listed in cities nationwide and worldwide. At first when you attend these groups you may feel resistance. You might feel that your suffering is not similar to theirs. But once you trust and listen, you’ll begin to open up and release your grief.