Are you in a dire situation of uncertainty right now? Are you in the middle of a health crisis, or do you have a health condition where you don’t know how you’ll end up? Did you recently lose your job or were you somehow wiped out by the market? Or are you in another type of financial crisis where you are uncertain about how you will be able to cover your basic expenses? Are you losing your home? Or are you in an emotional crisis where your spouse is leaving you or your relationship is in jeopardy? Some of you may even be facing some combination of the above.
I’ve been there. Five years ago, I was in a health crisis that lasted almost a year. It was surgery after surgery, not knowing when it would all be over. I also didn't know whether I would become whole again or end up disabled. That health crisis lasting for almost a year naturally caused a financial crisis at the same time. That was one of the most uncertain periods in my life.
From that experience and from God’s teachings, I learned about how to deal with such “uncertainty” (when I was desperately hoping for a certain outcome.)
Whatever uncertain circumstances you may be in right now, open your eyes and open your mind to see the opportunity. Yes, I said opportunity. With every tough and uncertain situation, there is a lesson and/or opportunity. If you don’t step back and see the situation with new eyes or from other angles, you will miss the valuable opportunities.
I once saw on a talk show a woman who was telling her story about being laid off. Initially, she was fearful and anxious, but she later consciously looked at her situation in a different light. She used the opportunity to do some thinking and some soul searching which she was previously not able to do, when she was employed and caught up in the busy-ness of her job and life. Looking at that situation with new eyes, she saw an opportunity of a life time. She has always wanted to start a chocolate business. However, she didn’t dare leave the security of her job, and quitting her job would put her without any income while taking the risk of building her chocolate business. Now that she’s laid off from her company, she receives unemployment benefits for about 11 months. Although the unemployment checks were only half her previous salary, it was survivable as she cut back on spending and learned to sacrifice the unnecessary luxuries in her life. Such temporary minor sacrifices were worth the opportunity to start the chocolate business she had always dreamed of, while having some income from the unemployment checks.
Usually, the truly spiritually grounded person would have no problem cutting back on luxuries and living simply. The more spiritually grounded you are, the more likely you are able to handle such situations in the best way where you can capitalize on the opportunities and get the lessons from these tough and “uncertain” situations.
Within 11 months, this woman’s chocolate business took off and she is now in a much better situation than she was when she was working at her previous job. Not only was she making more money, but she is doing exactly what she loves. She made use of a seemingly dismal situation (where many may have been blinded by the gloom) and she stepped back to look at the situation with new eyes in a more relaxed state (instead of a fearful state).
Most uncertain (and seemingly dire) situations are really golden opportunities if you can see it in new light. The more spiritually grounded you are, the more you are likely to do that and handle the situation in the best way possible capitalizing on the potential opportunities in the midst of the storm. In my blogs here, I intend to guide you in establishing that spiritual foundation. This also includes establishing a mental and physical foundation.
If you are in a tough and uncertain situation right now, I recommend doing two things:
(1) Allocate time to pray/talk to God daily. If you claim to "not have time", you can do this at night while you are laying in bed waiting to fall asleep.
(2) Take walks (in a safe place) and think about the outcome you desire of your situation. (Keep away from fearful, doubtful, or negative thoughts.) I’ll teach you more about power walks (or what I call SMP walks) later.
There is potential power and opportunities in the uncertain, or the unknown. Instead of fearing the unknown, seize the potential opportunity, to obtain true security. More on how to do this in future blogs.
For Part 2 and the rest of this "Facing Uncertainties" series, go to - http://spirfit.org/Academy/goingthroughstuff
For more lessons like this one, feel free to go to - http://spirfit.org/Academy/#life
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