We are meant to do hard things.
A year ago today, my world crumbled in a fast and painful way. My stability, work, home, happiness, comfort, and so much I built over my time in Nashville were ripped from my hands. Just a little past midnight on March 3rd, an E-2/3 tornado tore through Middle Tennessee, leaving thousands of people and hundreds of businesses in a 51-mile path, facing an uncertain future and terrible destruction.
That next day, I did not realize how much my life (and our world) would change in the days and weeks ahead. The grief and sorrow we would collectively experience over the next 12 months were indeed not at the forefront of our minds.
Through this one-two punch, I kept reminding myself that we are meant to do hard things.
When we go through change, we often want to create change under our terms and our control. This past year has brought transformational change. Transformational change happens when chaos rears its’ ugly head and forces change. Change that is not anticipated.
This is a type of change that we don’t necessarily want, but a change that forces us to live in a confusing, shadowy space for a while. This is when trusting your Knowing is the most important. Eventually, you will land on solid ground, look at the broken pieces of your past, and understand how to build a strong foundation for the new future.
Unwelcome change is hard.
Typically, when allowed to change on our terms, we overcome the pain, address the problem, pass the test, and move on. The reality is that when we are served unwelcome change, we need to embrace the suck and sit in the room and let it all happen: grief, joy, pain, happiness. This gives us perspective, allows us to observe our experiences, and find meaning in the suck.
When we grieve and experience loss, we typically work through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The reality is that throughout these five stages, grief grabs your heart and doesn’t let go. Grief gets more comfortable to live with over time. The real challenge is: how do we find meaning in our suffering. What are we going to do to help others through what we have experienced?
Loss of any kind is hard to understand, and it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling helpless. Instead, relearning optimism and letting our minds wander to envision a new future is critical to understanding what is meaningful and vital to you.
Harness your power.
This takes resilience. This requires you to be honest with yourself. Most importantly, this forces you to identify and stand in your truth. This requires that you realign your values to inform your future life experiences.
Still unsure? Take time to be still. Take time to embrace your Knowing.
The most beautiful life never promised to be easy. There are many times over these last 12 months that have left me craving for the past. The more time I spent living in my present, the more I realized that these storms have fortified my root system. Storms make trees take deeper roots.
When we take time to nourish our root system and do the deep soul work that comes with change, we will blossom.