Why You Are Having a Hard Time


The past couple of weeks have been difficult. I went out to Florida for a family crisis. Big depression clobbered someone I love very much. I came back and found that a whole number of folks on my leadership team were having a really hard time. At first blush it seemed as if it were simply coincidental... timing maybe, post Christmas stress, or winter fatigue or something like that.

But as I sat and thought about it, I realized that this is way deeper than personal stumbling. I began to hear the same story, spoken in different ways and the more I listened the more I began to sense that something bigger is happening.

The tsunami was caused by an earthquake. But really it was a huge shift in the surface of the earth - a planetary shift that actually changed the earth's axis. This was a monumental event. The energy flooded, literally, and wiped away everything that had been. You held on for dear life or you were swept away.

Now, it is funny, but this is the same theme I have been hearing over and over. Nothing that was makes sense. It all feels pointless. Everything I counted on no longer fits. I don't know who I am, I don't know where I belong, I cannot find my center. Too much, too fast and I feel like I am being sucked into a dark hole.

Now a medical model will diagnose these feelings as clinical depression. And that same model will prescribe medication. It will identify the situations that precipitated these feelings of darkness. Of course there will be "situations" - a lost job, a move, a promotion, stress at work, no sleep from a new baby, the death of a mother, a son at war, an abusive husband, a lost relationship or all of the above. But we have all had these things all our lives. Why are we stumbling so now?

I think the energy shift of the world discombobulated us on a cellular level. Things as they were actually do not exist any longer. Literally, our 'magnetic north" changed and we can't get our bearings. And if we stumble and then our food gets off, we cannot sort it out. It feels so personal. We do not experience it as a major spiritual crisis, it just feels horrible and we feel lost.

In last week's chat, I talked about this. I talked about this as a time of awakening. When things no longer fit, we have an opportunity to clear out that stuff, to throw away the stuff that does not fit and to make room for something new. We don't know what that will be yet, it has not emerged. So we have to endure this time of "in between" where the old is gone and the new has not emerged. However can we make sense of this?

At the first level, comfort comes with doing the food, doing the program. Not just taking out sugar, that is a tiny part of it. But following instructions, being connected, being patient. Rebuilding a solid foundation that cannot be swept away are all part of creating a way to hold what is emerging.

This is the time to go back to basics. Literally. Rather than getting caught in how horrible it is, ask for help. Get connected. Trust that this is not just a personal stumble, but that you are part of a great shift. You got thrown off kilter and you can get steady. Come to the relapse/restart class. Get back on track with your food and program. Don't beat yourself up.

Last week, I said "If you are going to be with a person in a dark hole, take a ladder and a lantern." (Smile)..the steps are the ladder and our humor and perspective is the lantern. You are not alone. Grace is unfolding.

(c)Kathleen DesMaisons 2006. All rights reserved.