How to Survive Storms, Pandemics, and, Well, Everything.

Here we all are.

Global pandemic with no end in sight.

School, no school, or home school?

Working from home, not working, where will the money come from?

Racial injustice come-to-Jesus right now. Educating ourselves to step up best we can.

Inland hurricane. Trees down, roofs crashed, crops ruined. Lives upended here in Iowa.

And this is only part of the chaos and uncertainty in our lives, isn’t it? (Tell me about it—me too!)

It’s not the first time in history foundational structures (you know—roofs, barns, leadership, the economy, caste systems, our personal safety, to name just a few!) have come crashing down around us (and in us).

But it’s our turn now. How will we answer our call?

First—and this is so critical—we have to see all the events of the past year as a call. Not a series of random calamities, not bad luck, not cruel misfortune.

For all this, we grieve, suffer, and bellow out our frustration. As we must!

But then, rather than get fixed in our grief, suffering, and frustration, we answer our call. Because in the end, folks, healing our lives is in our own hands.

Where do we start?

We soothe and settle.

I breathe. I soften. I stay curious. I am not the chaos in my life. I am the observer. I am the healer. I trust myself to know what to do next.

We take necessary action.

I go to safety. I protect myself and those I love. I call in the help I need.

We take the very best care of ourselves and our bodies.

I nourish myself with good food. I rest and sleep. I connect with those I love and who love me. I move my beautiful body. I walk in Nature. And I continue to soothe and settle: I breathe, soften, and stay curious.

Finally, we do the next very best thing we can.

In this moment I do my best. In this moment I am present. In this moment I recall my power. In this moment I radiate my love into the world. In this moment I radiate my love to me. In this moment I stack the wood. In this moment I prepare the food. In this moment I do my next best thing (without judgment, blame, or shame).

This is how we survive storms, pandemics, and, well, everything.

How can I help you answer your call?

Resources

Karyn Shanks MD. Soothe and Settle. 2020.

Karyn Shanks MD. We are Unbroken. 2020.

Karyn Shanks MD. Our Call for a New Healing Paradigm. 2020.