Wiping the Slate Clean

It is not unusual to feel lost at some point in your life. We have all felt that way at one time or another. There are certain events in life such as the perfect storm that inevitably leads many of us to this predicament, and leave us feeling precisely this way: the death of a friend or family member has certainly left many lost in its wake. Moving to a new state, regardless of whether it was your idea or not, or if your family moved with you. Nothing looks or feels the same.

And never underestimate the emotional roller coaster associated with the dreaded new “EMPTY NESTERS.” What all three of these have in common is the fact that there is a change in our life that we didn’t ask for. Life by nature is inherent with twists and turns resulting in unexpected outcomes.

The trajectory of life is not smooth sailing. Everything changes. The weather, seasons and to be perfectly blunt You! The world is in constant motion orbiting around the sun and daily making advances medically as well as technologically with computers, cell phones, and all the “SMART” devices.

I’ve even heard the word “user-friendly” thrown around in an attempt to lull us into a web of deception. Don’t be fooled. What actually ends up happening is we just add one more thing to our work responsibilities. We were already stressed out in our work and personal lives. Are any of you really surprised?

I wonder if the powers that be, the ones in charge of this propaganda that promised to save all that time, realized we were just going to add more demands to our already jam-packed schedules. If we keep adding, (just one more thing) to our plate, we risk losing everything.

Life by nature is inherent with twists and turns resulting in unexpected outcomes. Right at that moment, we feel like we are drowning in a sea of confusion. Waves of conflicting information and an array of disjointed emotions sweep us away from what we thought we wanted to unknown destinations.

The life we build our world around looks and feels like a stranger. It’s no wonder we feel this way with all the new technology that promised to make our lives so much easier, and as an extra bonus would also save us so much time. It’s worth repeating, the things these all have in common is the change and the fact that we didn’t ask for them.

Wouldn’t it be easier here to play the victim card than to look in the mirror, accept the responsibility, and face up to the fact that you were the one that made this decision? This precarious condition has no regard for age; it happens to all generations from young children to adult seniors. It doesn’t care what gender you are. This happens as often to women as it does to men.

The concept of meeting quotas holds no water here. Your ethnicity is simply water under the bridge. When you find yourself in this situation, and you will at one point or another, the same rules apply as when someone is lost in the woods. STAY PUT!

We cannot find the answers to the questions swirling around in our heads and will ultimately help if we keep moving. To regain your footing, start by sitting down. Take as long as you need. Close your eyes. Deeply breathe in a long, slow, steady breath. Then mindfully blow out all of the toxic energies. Get rid of the fear, anger, and indecision. These negative emotions are poison to problem-solving and successful thinking.

I offer you a technique I use that has worked for me in a multitude of different and very stressful situations. Instead of referring to this feeling as lost, reframe the thought to a life time-out. I ask any parent, teacher or person that has worked closely with children worker having a temper tantrum.Allow the stars to realign, the heavens to open up again, and all will once again be right with the universe.

So reboot, focus and then GET BUSY LIVING!!!