“Should you shield the canyon from the windstorms, you would never see the beauty of their carvings.”
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
In 2006 my father was diagnosed with cancer. A few weeks after receiving this news, he came home from work one day to find the house full of water because a pipe burst while no one was home. Then, just a few weeks after that, one of the neighbors began to complain that they did not like how the backyard fence looked and petitioned the city to have my parents remove the fence.
My mother had a saying when we were growing up that she would recite over and over again when something bad happened. After “thing #1” occurred, she would say, “Watch out, things come in threes!” What is even more bizarre about this is that almost all of the time, two more bad things actually occurred! Was my mother channeling some dark magic? Was it all just a coincidence? Why three? So many questions used to flood my mind back then.
Although I would not call my mother an optimist, she was not a pessimist either. She was doing what all of us do when we experience some kind of loss…finding a way to deal with the emotions she was feeling and protect herself from the unknown.
When any loss is experienced, grief follows. Grief can be defined as a response to loss in all of its totality, which includes the physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and social experiences connected to the loss (Smit, 2015). What my mother experienced when she recites her “things come in threes” incantation is known as anticipatory grief. In our minds, “anticipatory grief is the beginning of the end,” which I expand to include the fear of the unknown, and fear of the pain we may experience in the near future.
Lately, we have all been experiencing a bit of anticipatory grief. We have suffered many losses through COVID-19 and the recent brutal death of George Floyd: loss of people, loss of a job, loss of freedom, loss of a routine, loss of money, loss of face to face socializing, loss of travel plans, loss of the ability to go where we want when we want, loss of health, loss of our safety and security…but loss does not always have to signify something bad.
We not only experience grief when we lose someone to death, we experience grief when we lose anything in our lives, good or bad.
My younger daughter just recently moved to Florida from Arizona. Even though she is in her mid-twenties, this move signified her first time living away from her family. The last time I spoke with her, she told me how she is missing the familiarity of having the people she knows around, knowing where her favorite stores are, and going to her old place of employment. Even though she chose this move, she is experiencing a loss. She is grieving the loss of familiarity in her life. Then there is the loss we are all experiencing from the death of George Floyd. George Floyd sacrificed his life for a great cause…he was a martyr, who unknowingly championed the way to a loss of epic proportions and one long overdue…the loss of injustice against our black brothers and sisters.
Regardless of the circumstances around the loss, we can expect to have our own unique emotional and behavioral responses. Experiencing loss is a form of growth. Growth is usually uncomfortable. But it is in that discomfort where we grow the most. To move our lives forward, we must become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
The 5 stages of grief, coined by Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, are all emotions and behaviors we are familiar with to some degree: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. We usually relate these stages to a process someone goes through when they lose a loved one to death. In reality, these stages happen all of the time whenever we experience any kind of loss in our lives. They just tend to show up a bit differently…
The 5 stages of grief are tools to help us identify what we may be feeling as we move through a loss or change in our life. We do not linearly go through the 5 stages, nor do we always experience each one in the same way. Some people may even get stuck in one of the stages, and others may skip certain stages altogether. How we grieve is as individual as our DNA. Add a pandemic and racial injustice to the situation, and we have ourselves a unique grieving process.
This year started fresh. I had successfully launched a new part of my career, had several research projects underway, and had plans to live overseas for 4 months in Asia at the end of the year. In March, when the news hit about COVID-19, I sat in front of my computer in disbelief. It was as if my life flashed before my eyes. What now?
Denial presents itself initially as shock and numbness. For a moment, you might think it is a dream. You say things such as, “This COVID thing can’t be as bad as they are saying it is. I am sure it is just some version of the flu.” We find ourselves talking about what happened often, telling the story and our thoughts surrounding it over and over again.
The purpose of denial is to help us unconsciously manage feelings our psyche is unable to process at the moment. It is our psyche’s protective mechanism, much like my mother’s incantation of things coming in threes. As Elizabeth Kübler-Ross states, “Denial is nature’s way of letting in only as much as we can handle.”
Denial has shown itself in many forms during these trying times. To say the very least, we have all become quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situations occurring. Once the reality of the situation at hand is accepted, we usually begin to ask ourselves questions such as, How long will this last?, Will I be able to find food (and toilet paper!)?, Why do I need to wear a mask?, Will my loved ones be OK?
Asking questions is a good sign. When we start to ask ourselves questions, that means the healing process has begun. Think for a moment about what questions you are asking yourself right now? How have your questions changed over the last few months?
As this phase fizzles out, a door opens, and all of the feelings we denied, such as anger, surface.
Coming from someone who was a master at suppressing her anger for years, trust me when I tell you that this emotion is meant to be expressed and not buried down deep in the bowels of your soul. My Greek/Albanian up-bringing (lots of loud “discussions”) conditioned me to believe that not only was anger bad, but expressing your anger made you a bad person. I wasn’t necessarily formally taught this idea, of course, but from a child’s viewpoint, that is how I ended up interpreting what I saw around me.
Anger has a bit of a bad rap in our society. We have all observed anger in its raw, unfiltered form. The witnessing of the expression of anger in unhealthy ways has caused us to fear anger, which makes it hard for people to feel as if they can safely express their anger without being judged. Let’s face it; we know more about suppressing our anger than we do about actually feeling it, and as my friend, Kim says, “we don’t hold a laugh in, why would we hold anger in?”
What is underneath all anger is pain.
The key is to know how to express your anger in a healthy way that does not harm you or another person. We have this belief that anger needs to be logical and valid and that there are only a few acceptable ways to express anger, if at all. Anger can be a good thing. The anger around George Floyd’s death has sparked a new level of awareness that is the impetus of much-needed change in our society.
When you get to the point where you feel angry about a loss in your life, your subconscious is aware of two things: one, you are progressing in the healing process, and two, you feel safe enough to know that you will probably survive whatever is ahead. This is good news!
Anger is a necessary part of the healing process.
When anger shows itself, we now know things will not be the way they used to be. You can no longer just walk into a grocery store to pick up a few items. Now, you have to stand in line, wear a mask, follow the arrows on the floor to go up and down each aisle, and remember to stand 6-feet away from another human at all times. So much for a “quick” trip to the store! My anger also peaks out its little head when I see the behaviors of others in public, when I watch the news, and when I look in the mirror at my gray roots (that is more anger at my aging process than the pandemic). Our anger gives us a glimpse into those places where we are feeling the most stress and where the most change needs to occur.
Dig deep and ask yourself the following:
It is important not to judge others who are expressing this emotion, although we may be tempted. With that said, there are healthy ways of expressing your anger that do not harm yourselves or other people. Scream into a pillow, talk to a friend, exercise, get some fresh air, or do what I do and throw a bag of Nerf balls against the nearest wall while screaming. (Other than an occasional knock on my door from the neighbors during this outburst, this seems to work well.) Be willing to feel your anger. It is OK.
Remember, you have to feel it to heal it.
I liken bargaining to a day at the spa. It is our brief reprieve from reality. During bargaining, our imagination takes hold, and we begin to daydream about what it would be like if we had not lost what we did, and everything was back to “normal.” It is our way of pretending the loss did not occur, and things did not change. Our minds create scenarios of our long lost past or how we wish things to be in the future. We not only daydream about these things, we try and make deals with higher powers for them to come true.
We even bargain with ourselves by making deals on what we will accomplish (usually unrealistic goals) during our down-time. I’ll write 4 books, lose 20 pounds, bake cookies every day, and finally catch up on some sleep! Sound familiar? We will even bargain with our own beliefs. One day we are sure the world is going to end, and the next day we have convinced ourselves it is all a conspiracy theory. Our mind will even alter past events, so our perception of what happened changes. In the end, bargaining is our way of avoiding dealing with our new reality. It is a temporary reprieve into our own little fantasy land. Our brains will negotiate any way they can to avoid the pain of the loss or change.
If you find yourself in this phase, simply be aware of when you are doing it. Write down what you are thinking and take note of the patterns. Once you are aware of a thought, you then have the power to change it. Know it is natural to fantasize about how you wish a situation to be different. After all, that is how dreams become a reality. Once this phase has run its course, the realization that what is happening IS all real eventually sinks in.
As reality starts to sink in, we slowly move into the present time. We realize this is how it is, and often it seems as if there is no end in sight. If you have experienced either denial, anger, or bargaining (or all three) up to this point, you are exhausted. Burnout likes to show itself in this phase because you have been in a battle between ‘what is’ and ‘what was.’
Depression has a stigma of its own in our society. People view it as unnatural, and that is far from the truth. Yes, there are some who experience clinical depression, and that is a very real condition that requires medical attention. But, we all go through phases of depression many times during our lives. When a major change or loss occurs, let’s face it, that is depressing. The upside of depression is that it slows us down just enough to take stock of our situation and dig deep into a place in our soul that we may not normally visit. Your nervous system shuts down as a way to protect you from the feelings you cannot handle in the present moment. In essence, this phase slows you down so you can heal.
Pandemic depression may show itself a bit more mysteriously. Take note of some of your current habits and compare them to your pre-pandemic behaviors. Are you doing less and feeling more tired? Are you eating more or less? Are you showering daily? Are you socially interacting (virtually, of course) with people more or less? How do you feel about your work? Are your moods fluctuating more than normal? A shift in these behaviors is a normal part of depression. It is when we get stuck in unhealthy behaviors for a long period of time and don’t see a way out that help may be needed.
Empathy is the key when dealing with depression, both for yourself and others. Our natural inclination is to try to cheer ourselves or the other person up. Instead, just be with them. Just be with yourself. In her book On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss ( 2005), Elizabeth Kübler-Ross says to see depression as a visitor, “…perhaps an unwelcome one, but one who is visiting whether you like it or not. Make a place for your guest and invite depression to pull up a chair and sit with it.”
When we allow ourselves the experience of depression and really let ourselves feel it, it eventually finds its way out.
From a pandemic point of view, no, we are not at acceptance quite yet. This is mainly due to the magnitude of decisions that need to be made in so many areas of life regarding what our world will look like post-COVID-19. However, this does not mean we cannot experience this stage on our own. Acceptance is the realization that this is your new reality, and the old one is now permanently gone. We learn to live with a new way of being.
The tricky part of acceptance is the more your identity was connected to your old way of being and what you perceive you lost, the harder this stage will be for you. What was lost may never be able to be replaced or changed, but always remember that perception is reality. We may not be able to change the event, but we do have the power to change our perception of it. The human psyche learns best through contrast and challenges. When was the last time you actually learned something when things were going smoothly? One of my favorite quotes from Elizabeth Kübler-Ross is: “When all is said and done, we get to choose how we come out of the tumbler of life. Do we come out crushed, or polished and sparkling like a diamond? In the end, it is up to you.”
When acceptance takes hold, initially, this may simply look like having more good days than bad. Things will certainly not feel as they did before, but you will slowly begin to get used to your new reality. Your energy will return, and you slowly start to live your life once again, although it may look and feel different than before. What matters is, you are moving forward.
Whatever phase of grief you identify with at the moment, be kind to yourself and keep the following in mind:
We can allow in new experiences without being afraid. Life is dominated by what we perceive as randomness, but the soul always makes a perfect choice for the lesson it needs to learn. Trust the process of life. Be open to the curves life throws at you. I have learned to respond to the unexpected in my life by saying “interesting?” out loud. This keeps me in a sense of wonderment and excitement about what I am about to learn rather than living in fear of the unknown. Trust yourself that you’ve got this! Use your past experiences as anchors for the present by remembering that you made it and came out OK.
At the end of the day, fear and faith ask the same thing of us…to believe in something that we cannot see.
Choose to have faith.
By Dr. Christine Sopa, Industrial Organizational Psychologist, speaker, consultant, and researcher.
If you are interested in diving deeper into resources to support you as you navigate challenging times, sign up here for more information on live and online courses.
Resources:
Kübler-Ross, E. & Kessler, D. (2005). On grief and grieving: Finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. London: Simon & Shuster.
Kübler-Ross, E. (1997). The wheel of life: A memoir of living and dying. New York: Touchstone.
SMIT, C. (2015). Theories and Models of Grief: Applications to Professional Practice. Whitireia Nursing & Health Journal, 22, 33–37.
Chasing Unicorns and Other MythsAriana Langford is an emerging motivational speaker and writer. Her main theme, “Finding My Voice,” is directed at dispelling the shame of being a victim, while finding hope and forgiveness. She encourages compassion and personal growth in groups which include victims, offenders as well as general audiences. Ms. Langford lives in Oxford, PA with her husband, children and a variety of pets, all of whom she adores.
When I was young I loved unicorns. These mythical creatures of purity and strength captivated me. As the stories go, these elusive creatures could not be hunted. The way to catch a unicorn was to have a young virgin sit alone in the woods. The unicorn, attracted by her beauty and purity, would come and lay down next to her, resting its head on her lap.
I never heard of any cases where this actually worked. As I matured, my interest waned. Today I wistfully remember that youthful belief in myths when I come across an old unicorn keepsake.
These days, I find myself pursuing other myths. I move through the landscape of my life seeking inner peace and forgiveness. I live a blessed life, have a wonderful husband, children I adore, and a job that allows me to make a difference. Still, inner peace and forgiveness can be elusive.
Just like everyone else, I have been scarred while traveling through this world. For me, it was five years spent in foster care, only to be adopted into a nightmare of abuse and torture. Escaping from that environment landed me in a place I thought was safe until it no longer was. Completely on my own at 17, I was a victim of violent crime only a few years later.
Somehow, I always managed to survive, and by my late twenties, I even learned to thrive. I largely put my past behind me, and found the first cornerstone to a good life: hope. I still struggled with depression, but according to the mental health providers, this was an expected outcome for the trauma I endured. The depression could be controlled if I was willing to take a low dose anti-depressant – basically for the rest of my life. I wasn’t willing to do that, so occasionally I suffer.
As part of my healing process in my mid-twenties, I had to accept my adoptive mother as the broken human being she was. In retrospect it is clear that she hurt because she was deeply hurt. I got to the point where I basically forgave her, and as an adult we had some semblance of a relationship. That doesn’t mean I would leave my children alone with her. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting.
I was able to come to acceptance, if not quite forgiveness, with some of the other people who hurt me. Yet I continue to carry anger and bitterness. I know these things only hurt me, and hold me back.
The people I need to forgive represented systems that betrayed me. The doctor who said nothing when my mother claimed that I hurt myself after the incident with the wire hanger. The policeman who walked away, believing my screaming had been the result of a simple spanking. He left me to pay the price for attracting too much attention. The list goes on. Systems put in place to protect people never seemed to work when it came to me. These experiences left me with a lot of fear and hurt that decades later I recognize surfacing in my present life. Gathering love around me, I face these, head on, one at a time.
Perhaps the hardest area to heal is the one that is hardest to see. For when I get just a bit more honest, there is someone else I need to forgive. Myself.
Wait. What? What do I need to forgive myself for? When you grow up like I did, you have to make sense of the world somehow. I did it by believing that there was something wrong with me that caused all these bad things to happen.
While my head knows that this is an invalid belief, somewhere, deep inside me, this belief lives on. Now that I recognize it for what it is I am actively working on eradicating it from my belief structure. I cannot use a machete to cut it from my psyche. I can only coax it out with love and forgiveness. I need to love myself despite choices I made while trying to survive, forgive myself for habits built up over the years which grew out of fear-based notions. I am working to set aside the shame I carried for the better part of a lifetime. I was taught to keep secrets as a child, and I was very good at remaining silent. But this silence added to the conviction that there was something wrong with me, that people would turn away if they knew who I really am.
I know that we are all beings of Light. Our very essence is pure, and it manifests in the experience of love. Up until now, the silence I kept acted as a gatekeeper – only allowing so much light out at a time. I am removing the blockages, dismantling the dam that limits the flow of life inside me. As each piece of detritus floats away, it tells its story, allowing more light into the shadowy places. Amazingly, I find my voice grows stronger with every step.
I notice that inner peace comes, not when I am chasing it, but when I calmly sit and experience the Light that is within, the Light that I am allowing to fill me more fully.
I remain a work in progress, a traveler on a path still shrouded in mystery and magic. I walk forward with faith in the Love and Light that resides in each of us. And while the destination is unknown, I am certain I will find a deeper sense of forgiveness and peace.
Who knows? Maybe I will sit down in a beautiful wooded clearing, and a unicorn, attracted by the beauty and purity of my Light, will come and lay beside me, resting its magical head in my lap.
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Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Feng Shui Principles for LifeWhen there is light in the soul
there is beauty in the person.
When there is beauty in the person
there is harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home
there is honor in the nation.
When there is honor in the nation
there is peace in the world.
~Elements and Energy, Rosanne Rusnock
Feng Shui has 3 main principles and each principle has a connection, like everything, to life itself.
Principle #1: Everything is alive with chi
Everything has energy. Even the chair you are sitting in right now. How do the things in your home make you feel? Everything around you has memories associated with it. Look around and only keep the things that make you feel good, uplifted and joyful. Discard or give away everything that does not.
Principle #2: Everything is connected by chi
If you have read my blog in the past you have heard me say before that everything is connected on this earth; everything and everybody. Everything we do affects everyone around us. Look around at your life. Are the people in your life pulling you up or pulling you down? How about you? Do your actions make people feel good or do you leave negative marks and hurt feelings wherever you go? Cleaning house sometimes includes people in your life, regardless of who they are and what role they play for you.
Principle #3: Everything is constantly changing
Whatever you see and think about you attract into your life. What you think about you bring about. Your attention is everything! Look around your living space and see what it is telling you. How does it feel? What changes need to be made? If you want to attract into your life a mate, put things around your house in pairs (2 candles together, statues and pictures of couples, etc.). We think in pictures, not words. You need to see it the way you want it in order for your subconscious mind to attract it into your life for you.
If you feel the need to de-clutter or clean, do it! If you feel down, depressed or fatigued look around in the space in which you live and see if it matches how you feel. I have noticed that how I feel about my outside space (my environment) is a reflection of how I feel about my inside space (my mental and emotional state). If your desk is a cluttered mess, I will bet money on the fact that you feel like a cluttered mess. You have to start somewhere…so start with your space.
“The things surrounding you in your home serve as subliminal reminders of who you are. They will continue to direct you towards old patterns of behavior. Subconscious beliefs are generally so deep-seated that one is not aware of them.“
~ Denise Linn, Feng Shui for the Soul
Get out the broom!
Chris
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Announcing the release of “Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Christine Sopa published by Balboa Press.