How do you respond when life throws you a curve ball or life serves you a big sour lemon?
Life's journey is not always on a "bed of roses." Instead, despite your best efforts of living right and always doing the right thing, life throws you a unexpected fast curve ball. Sometimes disappointments and devastations in life are unavoidable. Certain situations seem so heavy to bear and the blow seems to take your breath away. You have your share of temporary setbacks but other times, out of the blue, hopelessness and grief show up for an uninvited, lengthy stay. Today I would like to offer some encouragement. Even if you really feel like giving up, don't. During these times when things seem to be falling apart we are given some pretty good opportunities to show patience, compassion and trust in God.
It is my desire that the following suggestions will help motivate and challenge you in your responses to the unexpected curve balls and lemons that you experience.
First, while you take a few DEEP breaths, take care of the "immediate" situation!
Here is a great analogy - "Disappointment is like a pot of boiling water. It must be dealt with. If you leave the water boiling, it can bubble over; left unattended, it will eventually boil away and burn the pot. That’s how disappointment works. It can manifest as outward anger, frustration, and impatience — boiling over. Or it can fester and do its damage through bitterness, hopelessness, or resignation — burning the pot. Either of those manifestations is unhealthy for us, and unhealthy for our children to witness.
If we’re using our pot of boiling water analogy, this is where you pull the pot off the stove, turn down the heat, or turn it off completely."
Second, your brain does not function well when you are distressed. Go for a brisk walk or run. Better yet, go to the woods, the beach or the mountains. Being with nature is perfect and is healing. Breathe in the perfection of creation. Then, do whatever it takes to get sweaty - even if you don't like to sweat It is a perfect way to release tension and get some endorphins rolling. After you return home, MEDITATE. Find the calm place that is inside you. Sit down, close your eyes, focus on your breath and get centered. You will get into the space in-between your thoughts, even if just for a second. Once you are there you will seethe everything really is going to be okay.
Third, change your focus. Paint those lemons pure gold! The process of working with disappointment, rather than against it is healing. Sometimes just allowing ourselves to think, "I really am disappointed" can be a relief. Simply acknowledging what is happening will remove a lot of stress that comes when we struggle against something.
Take back control - throw back the ball - make some lemonade and soar above adversity!
Life is too short to live is frustration and feel like the victim of circumstance. Painting those lemons gold and putting them in your bucket of awesomeness will remind you there are indeed, important treasures that you can and will discover in the midst of your current adversity.
You are a strong person!
You can embrace reality and you can and will transform frustration and disappoint into contentment and positive and rewarding outcomes!
