This year is barely a week old and I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I go from good, to great, to terrible, back to just fine, thank you very much. I like the idea of being on an even keel, but it seems that there is always something going on that creates the ups and downs. I know that I choose how to react to the events in my life - but let's face it - some of what goes on in life is pretty terrific and other parts are just really hard to accept and handle. Last night a dear friend passed away after a short stay in the hospital. It was shocking and completely unexpected. This was on the heels of wonderful meetings all day at my office that were preparing us for some really exciting projects this year. The day before it was the blood test results that kind of caught me off guard. So it was low - high - low, then today where I am somewhere in-between.
I am one of those people that expresses emotions fairly freely and my strategy with difficult times is to look whatever is facing me straight on, then deal with it. I am not someone who can hide my feelings or pretend that I feel one way when I feel another. That's part of the reason a week like this has been so difficult. I get happy, excited and energized by the good stuff and ride that wave as long as I can. I've been known to break into a happy dance when I am tickled by something good that's happening in my life. I've also been known to curl up on the corner of my couch with a box of tissues and just cry something out. Sometimes my tears are a wonderful elixir that can help to cleanse my fear, worry, or sadness and clear my emotional pain. Other times my tears are simply an expression of my current emotion and do little to help me feel better.
Life is sure complicated. We deal with every imaginable circumstance and many of those situations happen without any preparation or warning. We never know when we wake up in the morning if the day will bring a high, a low, or some combination of both. The things that happen to us every-day-people require us to be brave and strong, sensitive and expressive. They give us the opportunity to express gratitude and to show appreciation to the people around us who lend their support and caring. None of us escapes these every day challenges - ups and downs at work, stresses handling the kids, a spat with a spouse. Then there are the bigger challenges - family illness, financial crisis, aging parents or even death. To balance that out, there is an endless list of unexpected joys and blessings that come our way and that give us pure joy, laughter, love and feelings of deep satisfaction. The fabric of my life is rich. This was a week with a wide range of emotions. But through it all, the ups and the downs have settled. I'm still very sad about my friend's passing, but I'm feeling grounded and supported by the people I care about and who care for me.
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