“Shit happens. Yes, I said the S word. I hope you won’t be offended by the it, but the “C” word just didn’t seem to express the emphasis or intensity I want to convey. This blog is about that brown smelly stuff in our lives and believe it or not, how to live more fully when we know how to process it!”
Do you think anyone has smooth sailing these days? You see, we go along smoothly thinking that our life is “A OK” and feels good. We get used to the calm water and expect the smooth sailing to continue. Then BAM! Something happens and a huge wave of Shit hits the fan and blows right into our face. We forgot that change is a constant element of our existence.
OMG! What do you do if your 20-year-old son calls you from jail for the third time in nine months, asking for bail? Or your boss tells you that you’re part of the company layoffs and you’ve been with the company for over 25 years? Or you find out that your husband of 30 years has been having an affair with his secretary? Or, maybe worse of all, your mother calls to tell you your father has had a heart attack? Now that’s a lot of SHIT! Let’s hope all these things never happen all at once, but no matter what we do, over time, in increments, the Shit builds up.
True story:
My father was a plumber, and as strange and gross as this may sound, he had a fascination with processed sewage. One day he came home with a load of it from our town’s sewage processing plant. He spread it on the flower bed in front of his plumbing shop. My mom planted petunias. Not just regular ones, but “double” petunias into that bed. I have to say that those petunias were so into their doubleness that the flowers they produced looked like oversized carnations. Needless to say there were a lot of WOWS from the neighbors. A friend even used some of those petunias for her small wedding.
Why am I telling you this story? We can all imagine that sewage processing plants have an awful smell that can make a person gag. But look at it this way, when our Shit is processed, “Blessed and Transformed,” the outcome can consist of infinite possibilities! Just like those beautiful double petunias that had the honor of being part of a bride’s bouquet. They became so much more than they were originally meant to be.
Goddess Warriors, what will it take for you to Bless and Transform the S*** that happens in your life? What do you do with the S*** that has a mind of its own, and always seems to be out of your realm of control? What do you do with the Crap that seems to have the ability to change form (but not through a conscious process) and fool you into thinking that somehow “this time” things are different.
Start Here:
Have a conversation with yourself about how you responded to the “Blessed and Transformed” bit I just mentioned. I bet you’re saying to yourself that this Sassy Granny is full of you-know-what! What a crazy idea — no way am I willing to do that.
Let’s return to all those horrible possible shit storms I noted at the beginning of this blog: I know you don’t want to bless your son, you want to ring his neck and disown him. You don’t want to send a fruit basket to the person who just told you that you were laid off. And your husband, well that’s another matter. How about castration? What about your father? He’s been such a rock for you. You could always depend on him for guidance, and now he can’t be there for you. But, now you have the opportunity to be there for him! But how? Your life if filled with stress and upheaval. Where will you find the time or the energy?
Frustration, anger, hate, fear, worry—all roiling around inside you, stirring up the dregs of old emotional pain (SHIT) that leads to overwhelm!
Hang on! Let’s try a few more simple ideas:
Step One: Take a deep breath. The kind that reaches to your toes, then another one, and another one, and another one until you feel your feet touching the ground. If you let yourself, you can actually feel the support of the Earth under your feet. And, then it will be safe to notice that the dregs begin to settle and the cloudiness starts to clear.
Step Two: Plant your feet solidly on the ground and take up your Goddess Warrior Shield and take a stand. Visualize Wonder Woman.
Step Three: As the dregs start to clear, the world becomes less threatening, so you can gather the courage to really take a look at YOUR REACTION to the event. You have the ability to remove the energetic blinders from your eyes and stare down your emotions. Doing so makes things even more clear—so much so, that you can make a totally different choice than you have ever made before. Perhaps you no longer need to “ring your son’s neck” or “castrate your unfaithful husband.”
Step Four: Dare to ask why you allowed that situation or person to take your POWER Goddess Warrior? Finding out why you give away this precious energy can take time, but it’s worth it. These discoveries put you in a position to not only handle these issues and situations, but to learn from them and grow stronger as a result.
These steps are a start to process the SHIT in your life DIFFERENTLY! To grow beautiful flowers that exceed their potential so that you can send them to yourself and into the world as a gift, Blessed and Transformed!