Coping with Unexpected Circumstances
Climate change has been somewhat of an abstract concept for me, until now.
What we’ve been experiencing the last month in northern California has been exponentially different – day after day of record-shattering heat, massive thunder and lightening storms, fires season that is starting much earlier and more severe than ever before, skies an eerie orange color.
My thoughts and prayers are with those directly affected by the fires.
Even if you’re not being impacted by fire, you likely are experiencing other unexpected circumstances such as the effects of the pandemic.
How do we cope with circumstances like these?
Here are some things that have been helping me:
Feel the feelings. I’ve been feeling a lot of grief – both for the losses in the fires and also the loss of my sense of certainty about the future. I’ve also been feeling some anxiety and fear, which I think are normal reactions to the circumstances.
Examine my thoughts. I’ve been doing thought downloads, where I write down all my thoughts about the situation to get them out of my head, so they aren’t just on an endless repetitive loop. For each thought, I ask myself, “Is this helpful?”
Choose helpful thoughts. Constantly thinking thoughts that increase my fear and anxiety doesn’t feel helpful. I’ve been working on coming up with more helpful thoughts to practice, that help me feel more emotionally strong and hopeful. Thoughts such as: “I can handle whatever life brings,” “It’s not too late to reverse climate change,” “Anything is possible.”
Accept the current situation. Fighting against reality is exhausting. That doesn’t mean giving up. For me it means not spending a lot of energy on thoughts such as: “I can’t believe this is happening” and “This should not be happening.”
Take action. For me this is twofold – taking action to cope physically and emotionally with the current situation, and also taking action to do what I can about climate change, such as reducing my personal carbon footprint and campaigning for elected officials who will take action on climate issues.
Connect with my deepest values. For me, it always comes back to wanting to be the strongest, most resilient person I can for my husband and daughter. And showing up and making whatever contribution I can for my community.
Practice joy. Joy is a powerful emotion that helps to strengthen physical, mental, and emotional resilience. I am learning to give myself time to feel and process emotions such as fear and grief, but I don’t want to get stuck there. Doing activities that bring me joy really helps, such as connecting with family and friends, being creative, being in nature (when possible), and music.
What helps you cope with unexpected circumstances?
Please take good care of your precious self. Our world needs your heart centered gifts!
Hugs,
Liz
