Life can be satisfying and magnificent, but there are times when it can also be devastating. It can bring you to your knees in a pitiful, helpless, and hopeless state. Broken relationships, the loss of a loved one, or the physical devastation of a natural disaster can leave you feeling overwhelmed and powerless. One example of this comes with the recent landfall and wrath of Hurricane Irene on the New Jersey shores. In the aftermath of this disaster, many people facing the flooding and the cleanup efforts that follow, wondering how they get their lives and their homes back to a level of comfort.
The first thing you have to do is admit that you don’t have the resources to handle the problems on your own. Your home is a material thing that can be repaired, but your emotional and mental health in the aftermath of disaster is more fragile. You have to humble yourself a bit, and realize that some things are out of your control and that the important thing is that the disaster left you with more life to live. Sometimes it is necessary to surrender.
This does not mean that you should give up and not solve the problems that resulted from Hurricane Irene, but rather to give in to the emotions you are feeling now. Talk to someone, and express the frustration and sadness you feel about items you may have lost in the flooding. Get your emotions out in the open and face them head on. Once you can acknowledge them, you will be able to change them. Trust in the power of your mind, just as you trust that the dawn follows darkness. Trust that you will come out on the other side of your problems with new wisdom and strength. Surrender.
Accept the help of others in solving your problems, and in return help them with their problems. By combining forces, you will find that the support system you build will make your problems seem smaller. You will be better able to tackle them both physically and mentally, changing your frustration and sadness into a more positive attitude of “I can do it” instead of “I can’t handle it.” Surrendering to your emotions and getting them out of the way will give you the strength and resilience that shows the world that you can do anything you put your mind to.
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