TEXAS WEATHER.

CHANGE is like Texas weather, always showing up unexpectedly. It is inevitable, just when we don’t expect it, guaranteed to disrupt our ‘normal’. And yet we are shocked by the storm of change, each time underprepared and overwhelmed by its arrival. The key is to prepare for change before it happens. That no matter the intensity of its force, we are geared for the blow before it lands on our doorsteps.

In recent months, we have ALL experienced massive changes in our lives. Changes which have erased our ‘normal’ and introduced us to a new landscape of intense isolation, forced familial togetherness, rampant joblessness, gruesome worries, fall-backs into old habits, profound exhaustion, and a foreign type of depression. It has displaced us from our lives. Many of us have laboriously managed to find and carve new paths in which to function as ‘survivalists’. But many of us are still lost, despairingly wandering in the woods of the COVID forest, hoping that the storm will pass soon and we will be able to emerge out into the open air of our previous normalcy. One thing is sure, the force of this change has left its brand in our lives. The truth is, we don’t have to be lost or afraid. There is a way to carve a safe and healthy path out of this wilderness of chaos and weather this tempest of change.

PATH CARVING : THE WHAT, WHY & HOW.

WHAT : First things first, we need to evaluate our stance. We have to examine our perspectives. What do we want? Where are we standing in our attitudes? Are we surviving or thriving? Are we enduring or expanding? Just faring or flourishing? Are we pacing or marching? You get the direction of my drift. The difference between our weakness and wellness is our stance, which is our perspective on the matter of ‘change’. Are we bowed down in the face of it or are we standing tall and holding our feet to the ground, refusing to be blown down by it, CHANGE? WHY : Next, we need to establish our daily structure. Routines and habits are the foundational structures we build in order to establish stability and safety in our lives. They allow us to ‘live’ our lives and pursue our purposes. But when these routines are interrupted or broken, we find ourselves dislodged and daunted by the elements of our circumstances. The key is to revisit and then reinforce the foundation so that we can experience the richness of life. But, and this is a big ‘BUT’, it will require a shift in our perspectives as it pertains to ‘change’. A shift from being reactive to becoming proactive.

HOW : Last of all, we need to engage by pushing start. Start with now! We have the power to alter the trajectory and even the chemistry of our destiny if we can find the courage to face the ‘elements of our life’; our circumstances, our resources (financial, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual), our giftedness, our dreams and most importantly, our attitudes.

Here are three broad steps with which to start now : 1. Communicate. Talk honestly about what is going on inside you with friends, family, mentor, or a therapist. Talking not only helps others to hear you, but it allows you to hear yourself. 2. Collaborate. Plan together, realistically. Togetherness erases isolation and also puts more hands on the task of rebuilding. And remember, nothing brings people closer than a common enemy, the beast called COVID-19. 3. Commit. Negotiate to thrive and then close the deal with yourself. Thriving is for the resilient and the persistent, and for those who are willing to step outside their comfort zone. Begin by erasing the paralyzing notions of ‘what was or should be’ and focus your energies on ‘what is and what can be’. Never lose sight of the ‘big picture’ of your life. This will allow you to keep a healthy forward momentum. Negotiate and act on being adaptable, positivite, and most importantly, patient. The clearing will come!

“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” - Eckhart Tolle

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