On a video I watched this week the host was telling a story. It was about a man who had undergone the trauma of having his home destroyed in a fire. Three months had passed and he was in a new place. But it didn’t feel like home. And he kept remembering things he had lost. Lately, he had been misplacing things and getting distracted, forgetting what he intended to do. Time seemed strange. Sometimes whole hours were gone in a blink. Sometimes ten minutes lasted forever. He was moody, wavering between a tedious depression and itchy annoyance. It bothered him so much that he finally went to see a counselor.
“Well, Dave,” she said to him gently, “You have been living in a state of shock for three months. It takes time to get your bearings when your whole world has changed. You’re okay.”
The host said when he heard that story, it occurred to him that all of us have been living in a state of shock this year. The place doesn’t quite feel like home. And from time to time, we start thinking about all we have lost. Not only material things. Relationships. Beliefs. Whole ways of life.
You can get lost yourself, thinking about it. You can fall into a well of grief. And that’s okay. Loss hurts. It’s healing to grieve. It shows you how much you valued what you had, even if you never thought much about it. But don’t dwell in grief. You are still alive, for better or worse, and more experiences await you. And isn’t that what you’re doing here? Experiencing life in all of its textures and layers?
Somewhere this week I read this: “I always succeed. Either I win or I learn.” It’s a worthwhile attitude. Sure, sometimes the learning is painful. Sometimes the path is rough. But every moment of it is yours and enlarges you.
Another interesting item I ran across this week was the statement that your chances of being born were one in four trillion. I have no idea how that number was determined. But suppose it’s true, considering all the factors involved. Your being here is phenomenal!
And if you’re wandering around feeling distracted by the drastic changes in our world, it’s okay. These moments are yours, too. A whole lot of us, worldwide, are feeling the turbulence of the times. Life has become a seemingly unending series of shocks. Just take a breath, and realize there is vast beauty here, too, and kindness, and moments of laughter and joy. And above all, keep believing in happy endings, in the faith that, truly, the best is yet to come.
Warmly,
Susan