Moving Forward: Using "Trust"
as Your Life Preserver
by Sunny Schlenger
 Several years ago, a series of unexpected events tossed me out of Life Cruise mode, and into the cold rapids of Uncharted Reality. A good friend counseled me to grab onto the only thing I could--my faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to--and just hang on. In other words, use trust as my life preserver.
I’ve never forgotten this advice, and fortunately haven’t had to use it too often. But every time I do, I’m both amazed at and comforted by its power to get me through whatever requires navigation.
Crises test our beliefs, and I’m pretty sure that they occur when they do as a way of showing us what we’re made of; they make us walk our talk and demonstrate how far we’ve come since the last time our foundation was shaken. We’d much rather do without them, of course, but handled correctly, they can lift us to the next level of our growth.
Crises can range from small, unpleasant surprises to (literally) earth-shattering events. We may just be knocked off-balance, or thrown to the ground. But in every case, our feelings of security are at least momentarily derailed. And that’s what can prove to be so terrifying.
"This isn’t supposed to be happening," we tell ourselves. "I didn’t bargain for this; I didn’t plan for it. I did everything I was supposed to do and knew how to do. It isn’t fair." We’ve all experienced the shock and disbelief of events occurring, big or little, for which we don’t feel prepared. Our first reaction probably is to fight the unwelcome reality, but our success in dealing with it will, in large part, depend on how quickly we can move to the next stage -- acknowledgement.
With acknowledgement comes the acceptance that yes, the event has indeed occurred. We are no longer on the boat; we are in the rapids. And we have a choice: we can resist by frantically attempting to swim backwards, or we can flow with the current and see what our options are. And to flow or float, we need a life preserver.
By accepting trust as that life preserver, we’ve enabling ourselves to relax and assess the situation without wasting all of our energy flailing about. We need that energy, and all of our wits about us, because sometimes we’re tossed overboard for a reason that’s not immediately apparent...
>>> Click to Continue Reading "Moving Forward"©
Copyright Sunny Schlenger. This article was originally
published at our website, SoulfulLiving.com, in Aug. 2004, as part of Soulful Living's "Moving Forward" Issue.
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