“While we do our best to not be in perpetual states of worry and fear, experience eventually teaches us that fear and anxiety are only as powerful as the attention we give it.”
Turbulence. It’s inescapable. Sometimes it’s light and other times it’s severe and extreme. No matter the conditions most of us want nothing to do with it for we know that sudden and erratic change in our lives leads, in most cases, to hysteria, or at the very least a frustration that makes the possibility of peace seem unattainable. Turbulence is unpredictable and that right there, my friends, is why it is so scary and why we will gladly stay put until the conditions are perfect for take-off. Seriously, who wants to live in a world of unpredictability? Who wants abnormal? Most of us, nine times out of 10, are signing up for the most comfortable life possible free from hurt, pain, disappointment, inconvenience, agitation, death and full of unimaginable pleasure, success, riches, favor, awards, and rewards. The prevailing thought is that a life of comfort and convenience is a life void of turbulence. It’s easy, so it can’t be shaky, right? It’s burden-free, so it can’t be stressful, right? It’s a world full of naivete unpunishable and inconsequential and who wouldn’t want that, right?
Turbulence is as gentle as a brillo pad and as comforting as a quartet of 5-year-olds just learning to play the violin. It’s neither gentle nor comforting, which is why we desperately work as hard as we can and fight as long as we can for something that is as productive as chasing the wind, control. You see, the height of turbulence’s scare is when you realize that what you’re experiencing is completely out of your control. So, what do you do? How do you survive the jolt of a cancer diagnosis, the punch of a layoff, the shock of abandonment? How does one keep it together when it all seems to be falling apart?
“We ground ourselves from the unsettling nature of discomfort by knowing where the source of our peace and hope come from.”
There is no easy or simple answer to handling the turbulence of life. The fact of the matter is if you’re living it’s only a matter of time before you become well acquainted with good ol’ Turby (aka Turbulence), yet I’m here to tell you that turbulence is okay as long as you’re grounded. What does that mean, “as long as you’re grounded”? Dare I say that it’s natural to worry and to fear and to want to avoid bad things happening. It absolutely is and while we do our best to not be in perpetual states of worry and fear, experience eventually teaches us that fear and anxiety are only as powerful as the attention we give it. We ground ourselves from the unsettling nature of discomfort by knowing where the source of our peace and hope come from. We ground ourselves by knowing what it means to truly be secure. NEWS FLASH: The seatbelt actually works on the plane. So, when turbulence hits, stay buckled up, stay seated, and trust what has you secure. The pilot knows the plane and knows that it was built to handle a certain amount of turbulence. The pilot knows how precious the lives on the plane are and will maneuver the plane in a way to steady it, never deterring from the destination. So, I tell you, rest. Be at peace with adversity knowing that through those thick and dark clouds lies the sun.
With Sincerity,
RSC
With Sincerity 