Are you prepared for the storm?

We’ve had some beautiful glimpses of spring in recent days, but today it’s a stormy March day, complete with wind warnings and power outages.  It makes me think of the “perfect storm” that sometimes crops up in life when multiple circumstances bring us to a place of severe upset and turmoil.  The kind of storm that happens when you lose your job, your pet, and your spouse all in the same week.  No one is immune to the surprise storms of life, so the question then becomes: how are you going to deal with it?  The best preparation for dealing with these storms is to have a strong sense of self, firm beliefs about what you want in life and how to manifest these things, and a strong enough sense of faith or hope to help you hang on until the wind calms down and the sun comes out again.  People often come for counselling during these life storms, and a counsellor can hold the space of hope for the client when the client is feeling hopeless.  But an even better method of coping is to prepare yourself to weather a storm before the storm comes.  This can also be done with the help of a counsellor, as you work on your personal growth and on finding the strong center within you.  It is a good idea for anyone to have a number of people in mind who will be there for you when times get rough.  If you have even a few people you can truly count on, you are doing well with maintaining a supportive social network.  Sometimes these people are family members, sometimes friends, sometimes professionals such as counsellors, career coaches, massage therapists, or other healers.  Please take a moment to think about who you would turn to if the perfect storm cropped up in your life right now.  You might even want to write down a list, because sometimes when the storm comes, shock sets in and you can’t think clearly.  Think of it as the emotional equivalent of a kit you might keep in your home or car for emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, or snowstorms.  I wish you a beautiful life, free of storms.  But if you find yourself in a storm, please reach out for help.  No one has to go it alone.