😀Friend or Foe😡?

It sure looked like a foe!

The attack was sudden and hit me on all fronts (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and financial) with particularly horrid timing.

I saw it coming and I put up formidable defenses, confident that I would prevail.

But I went down. WAY down.

And now, over two weeks later I am just starting to pick up the pieces and assess what's next.

The first thing I did as I crawled out my bed, was to attempt to reframe my foe as a friendly ally.

After all, I sent out a call in my last post for allies for the game I am creating *and one of the key components of the game is to transform challenges and "enemies" into allies.

How perfect that I received this opportunity to not only practice what I preach but to also learn about what works and what does not in seeking support. Especially given that creating a supportive team is another important part of the game.

It turns out that the flu, (or possibly two flus --one that hit my chest and sinuses with a fever and sapped every drop of my normally effervescent energy and the other that wreaked havoc with my digestive system), brought me some truly precious gifts. For real!

Nothing happened the way I planned. I certainly would not have asked for the flu or for the many repercussions. And I'm still in the process of learning the lessons and appreciating the gifts, but the lessons and gifts are definitely there.

In my next post, I will reveal what I learned, and how it can benefit you.

In the meantime if you are one of the many people in my network experiencing intense times, or if you are just feeling the stress of so many (and not just humans) in the larger world in crisis, I invited you to consider the possibility that the foes in your life, might just be friends in disguise.

I also want to remind you that this week, (2/11-2/17) is Random Acts of Kindness Week. If you are having a rough time, one of the best remedies is to do kind things for others. Even tiny acts will help you as well as those who will benefit from your kindness. I promise!

Also, in addition to Valentine's Day, it was Mardi Gras, and the important Hindu holiday of Mahashivaratri and Ash Wednesday-- which marks the beginning of Lent.

Today there is a solar eclipse , the Buddhist holiday of Nirvana Day, and the very ancient Pre-Roman festival of Lupercalia.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year (the year of the Earth Dog) and Losar (Tibetan New Year) begins on the same day this year.

Another surprising remedy for difficult times is to connect (even if only in your heart, or by a small gesture like eating with chopsticks tomorrow and thinking of how many millions are doing the same), to others who are celebrating the natural cycles of life.

Aside from the commercial Hallmark holiday of Valentine's Day, all of these holy days are connected to natural cycles. They remind us that Life is filled with cycles within cycles.

Light  becomes dark and dark becomes light. Love and gifts come to us and loss is inevitable.

And we are all in this together.

I am not suggesting that you pretend everything is one giant party or that you should not use caution in the face of danger.

I am however, unequivocably stating, that no matter what you are experiencing, you can help yourself and others by creating opportunities to connect in kindness and adopting a spirit of curiosity as to the possible gifts from even the worst possible "foes".

Artist link

* 💞For those of you who responded to my call for allies after my last post with messages of support, I can't even begin to tell you how much that meant to me. I started crying with an answered longing I did not even know I was feeling.

I will be in touch soon with clear, easy, quick options for how to participate. For those of you who are just seeing it now, click this link, it's not too late --I would be thrilled if you want to play with me!

Sorry, no video this post. The timing of my almost-but-not-quite-complete recovery and all that is clamoring for immediate attention after over two weeks of neglect did not allow for me to create one.

Update: last night after the first day that I was feeling almost back to normal (or as normal as I get!), I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever. It was much easier to befriend the flu in retrospect, thinking it was on its way out, then to have it as a lively companion again. Especially since I have dear friends (whom I enjoy hanging out wit a lot more than this one!) coming into town to see me this weekend from Minnesota. So once again, I am being given the opportunity to show that I really mean what I say about befriending seeming foes. You have my attention, my friend!