What to do? Who to be?

These are confusing times.  These are fearful times. 

If you have been working on your personal evolution, this may seem like an impossible situation.  A mystery killer that can strike anyone, anywhere at any time.  But that is not completely true.  There are facts to pay attention to.  There are choices to make, even in this disturbing new situation.  I notice that by caring about the planet and the people on it for such a long time I am in grief about what is happening all over the world.  And that's a lot of grief! 

Hans Coaching World Grief.jpg

How about you?  How many people are on your heart right now?  Remember the cycle of grief acronym DABDA?  Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.  If you are feeling similar to me, where would you locate yourself in this moment on that cycle?  I am in some of each of them throughout the day.  And that's the thing.  If you can normalize your experience, this will be somewhat easier to get through. The alternative is to be ambushed by thoughts, feelings and body sensations, people, circumstances and things throughout the day from many sources.  You can interrupt that avalanche.  Because this is not the first or last big tragedy we will go through. 

So look to the past for how you got through challenges in a healthy way.  And be ok with a bit of numbing out to feel something other than pain or fear (vegan donut anyone?).  I notice I am impaired mentally and emotionally.  I am moving slowly.  But the only time that becomes a problem is when I think I should be some other way than I am.  Like how life was three weeks ago!  As long as I can be present to my current experience, share and get support, I can be ok.  Not great, but ok. 

So consider putting DABDA on your wall and locating yourself at least daily, if not more often.  We will move through this.  We will remember this.  We will get healthy as a planet and a people once more.  We will learn and rebuild.  So take care and make good choices.