My perspective concerning what constitutes a crisis can change in a moment. Because of where we live, we are often without electricity for hours at a time. Although this can seem like a hardship to bear, we really are comfortable. Arden has developed a backup-generator system that is automatic. It runs the furnace, many of our appliances and the lights. My main complaint is that we don’t have internet including our internet based telephone service when we have a power outage.
While this situation can bring some stress with delayed work projects and clients who leave messages that have gone unanswered because we haven’t been able to hear the message yet. Truthfully this is not a crisis, it is just a small irritation.
This experience is similar to having the stomach flu and feeling some stress because I wasn’t feeling good. Then I talked to someone who was through chemo. They haven’t felt good for months. Talking to them changed my perspective about an upset stomach.
It is the same as when I feel extra stress with my care-giving duties. It can feel overwhelming and then I read about someone who has lost their loved one they were caring for. That changed my perspective.
Our priorities will change when our perspective shifts. It is easy to feel that the situations we are faced with are too difficult to for us to handle. However, if we look outside ourselves, we will notice that often the burdens others are carrying are often greater than ours.
Even though I did feel a bit anxious when the day seemed to be passing by without connection to our clients and I was very excited when the power and internet came back on, this was not really a hardship. It was a bump in the road. We decided to clean up and organize a corner of the office instead of worry. That felt good.
Take a breath, ask yourself if what your facing really is an insurmountable obstacle, or is it just a bump. Gaining that perspective will reduce anxiety and increase your joy in life.
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