How to Navigate Bad Times

What happens when you get off track? (On Track, Part 4)

OK- you've talked yourself down from any sort of panic and you've pretty much figured out what your dream and adventure is going to be...and you're going to stick to it.

But what happens when it gets tough and you start rethinking:  "Maybe I should stop this - all my friends and family and spouse are telling me that I shouldn't be doing this...maybe I should begin to think like a 'mature' person and return to a 'respectable' job."  Here come the Naysayers.

First, I've discussed not giving up your dream.  But you get drawn off track:  you start listening to well-meaning but ill-advised friends/family who tell you to put your dreams away.....or you start listening to your demons - those voices that tell you that you're stupid for following such folly.  No matter how - but you're drawn away from your dreams.

What is a challenge/quest anyway? (On Track Part 2)

Have you ever felt this way in the morning?

 

I love this cartoon.

Isn't this just the way it is....here you are minding your own business, brushing your teeth in the morning when the Lady of the Lake (of the Arthurian Cycle fame) hands you Excalibur so "YOU" can go out complete the challenge to save the world. 

Me:  "Uh - who me....uh,  I'm in the middle of sumptin'  here and you want me to do what?"

OK, so I accept the challenge. (On Track, Part 3)

So what happens if you take the challenge?  Well, for the short term things don't get better.  I'm sorry, but that's the truth.  As a matter of fact they usually get worse  - a lot worse, which means you are usually tested in all the areas that are the most frightening to you - the #1 test:  What in the world are you doing?....everything is going haywire....aren't you supposed to be making progress?

Yes, this is actually progress, but it doesn't feel like it.  Stay with it.

Are you having a bad day?...week?...year? (On Track, Part 1)

On Track - this series is a short review of where we are.  Enjoy.

OK - that's really not meant to be funny, but it sort of is.  Well, let me put it this way.  Now that I'm coming out of my financial/emotional horror, it's funny;  when you're smack dab in the middle of it - it's horrifying.

Can't figure out where to start cause things are so confusing....well the first place you start is with a challenge or a quest.  Quest sounds sort of King-Arthur-ish, so I like challenge better. 

What sort of challenge are you presented with things go to hell in a hand basket?  Lots.  As I mentioned in part of the "Blossoming" series in starting out, you have to get your mind and spirit in the right state before you can start.

The Act of Blessing

These simple words like faith, believe, seek, knock are really difficult to pigeon-hole into a definition.  Blessing and the Act of Blessing fits in that category very well.

From the dictionary Blessing means:  to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy, to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on, to bestow good of any kind upon and to protect or guard from evil.  Sounds great doesn't it.  I want some of that!!!

Sending out good feelings...

....brings good feelings back to you. 

This makes little or no pragmatic sense.  Where does it come from.  You send something out, it ain't coming back.  When you pay bills, the money goes out and more bills keep coming in.  That's just the way of the world.

The naysayers love this one.  Their rebuff is:  "Look you send something out, it does not come back.  Life is not a boomerang.  And if it does come back, it won't come back to you.  It will go to another person."  This is what we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Welcome

This is a blog about my "adventures" in surviving the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," as a sane and whole person.  OK, my family may not think I'm totally sane, but they are very proud of me, which means they still claim me!

Having said that, there are a couple of posts that will introduce me to you and will let you know what to expect and what not to expect.  In addition there are some basics, that would be very helpful to go through first, and then a post on how this blog is organized, so that you can get most of the material you need as clearly and organized as you can.  Also a group of resource blogs that will be updated as more becomes available.  One more category, Emergencies for when you've got the "mean reds" really badly and need an immediate "fix".

I hope you'll take part, or just follow along.  You can comment anonymously, and I think my email is here - if not it's on either my design site or my underwater photography site.  Sharing your experiences not only makes those experiences easier to withstand and survive (they get aired out), but also sharing enables others to understand that they are not alone.

In addition, check out the download page.  It's getting a little full, so I've divided it up into sections.  This is meant to be a index for ideas and "jump starts" to get you going in the right direction.

I love hearing comments and stories of how you are doing.  Also feel free to ask questions.  I try to write about pertinent ideas, feelings and helpful techniques that will move you toward the fruition of your goals, but like to hear where you all are with your progress.

Enjoy.  Claire

Naysayers

I'm not here to tell you what to believe.  I can only tell you what I know and what I have experienced.  I am emphatic about it, cause I know miracles exist and that belief and leap of faith work - without a doubt.

I've seen a lot of miracles in my life, and I have experienced two very dramatic "180-type turn around" miracles.  Miracles that had no reason to happen other than they were miracles.

Some cool stuff on the net

I love surfing, and I love surfing for resource information/media to support my faith and belief tools.

I'm not saying that once you've reach some sort of fulfillment that you need to keep doing all the little techniques I use here.  Actually good feelings feed on themselves, and once you start feeling good about yourself, it doesn't take much to feel better. 

OK, that's a duh statement.

Resources

I'm at sort of a break between subjects or series of blogs, and thought it would be fun to get in a "footnote" sort of mood.

There are so many authors and participants in this process, that it begs a list of who and where to go.

I have to qualify this, because I am very careful about who I recommend as well as what I recommend.  To explain that a little further:  Everyone has a "tilt" on their views, I'm no exception:  I want you to know up front what my tilt is.  This way you can judge it for your own, without having to spend the time to go through umpteen blogs to get the information you need.

Toward that end below are some of my favorite resources, with comments: