Overcoming Natural Disasters
This is the question I've had to ask myself many times during natural disasters just to get by and back to a place of peace and acceptance about moving through all of it with less anger and fear of what’s ahead.
At first it feels like trauma by way of forced separation between us and the things that give us comfort. Being forced to release ourselves from our material attachments is probably one of the hardest things because of the precious memories or material attainment they represent. When we rely on material things for comfort, this separation feels like the worst thing in the world. However, having that separation also brings us back to remembering that life itself is a gift and that good health is far more important than any material item we could own.
Natural disaster forces us to take stock in our life and clean out what no longer serves us. We regain a newfound freedom in our life when we begin to feel gratitude for simply being alive and releasing the parts of our self that are holding onto material attachments for a sense of identity and purpose.
We feel greater freedom and release as we begin to let go of the past and of the items that no longer bring us joy, as we take stock of the things that we accumulated and stored but never used, and as we let go of placing our worth and value in the world as one of material acquisition. Natural disasters force us to remember the impermanent nature of all that we acquire.
Sometimes it means releasing something as large as a family home that has housed the family for generations, but as much as that home provided for us, it may have also kept us in one spot and prevented us from finding greater abundance elsewhere, simply because we felt we had to continue keeping the family home rather than moving to a better place to live a fuller life here and now. Natural disaster gives us the opportunity to release ourselves from obligations that do not serve our growth or greater abundance in life, and to only carry forward that which we feel serves us well in our future.
As you deal with natural disaster in your life, remember that from every ending comes a new beginning. See your new beginning and decide how it will serve you better than the attachments of the past. If we are learning and growing from every experience in our life, than the future will always be far more abundant than the past.
Step by Step Strategies for creating a more abundant future after natural disaster:
1. Plan for 6 months of displacement:
When major loss has occurred, assume that you will be displaced for 6months or more and decide what kind of living situation will help you get by during that amount of time, while allowing you to extend it month by month as needed. Explore home-sharing options with friends and family who deeply want to help you get back on your feet, explore Airbnb options online, long-term Hotel options, home rental options through real estate agents, RV rental options, or completely moving to another state or country you've always wanted to explore for a while if you do not need to stay in the same area for work. Document everything for insurance or federal emergency aid reimbursement.
2. Create a list of what's important to rescue if found:
In a removed and peaceful place, where you cannot see what has been damaged or lost, make a list of what material items you would like to see rescued if possible. It is important to do this without the trauma of seeing everything in a state of damage or disrepair, which can trigger fear, anxiety, and confusion about what is most important to us. Our memory knows what it misses most and what feels irreplaceable. Even if important items cannot be found or are permanently damaged, it helps put into perspective all of the items that are easily replaced by something newer, and it gives us time to remember and grieve any losses that feel important and meaningful to us.
3. Make a list of what would be better:
By moving from a place of memory and grief into a place of creativity and visioning a better future, we put ourselves in a positive and empowering place to create more of what is most meaningful and supportive to us. We begin to imagine our life beyond our previous reality into a space of newness and possibility, all while coming from a wiser and more experienced place of life. Maybe there were things we never had room for, or things that weren't important and took up too much space. In the newness of what we really want more and less of in our future, we can decide what is most important to us now and how we will cultivate a space for more of what we love as a way to help us release what no longer serves us from the past.
Step by Step Strategies for creating a more abundant future after natural disaster:
1. Plan for 6 months of displacement:
When major loss has occurred, assume that you will be displaced for 6months or more and decide what kind of living situation will help you get by during that amount of time, while allowing you to extend it month by month as needed. Explore home-sharing options with friends and family who deeply want to help you get back on your feet, explore Airbnb options online, long-term Hotel options, home rental options through real estate agents, RV rental options, or completely moving to another state or country you've always wanted to explore for a while if you do not need to stay in the same area for work. Document everything for insurance or federal emergency aid reimbursement.
2. Create a list of what's important to rescue if found:
In a removed and peaceful place, where you cannot see what has been damaged or lost, make a list of what material items you would like to see rescued if possible. It is important to do this without the trauma of seeing everything in a state of damage or disrepair, which can trigger fear, anxiety, and confusion about what is most important to us. Our memory knows what it misses most and what feels irreplaceable. Even if important items cannot be found or are permanently damaged, it helps put into perspective all of the items that are easily replaced by something newer, and it gives us time to remember and grieve any losses that feel important and meaningful to us.
3. Make a list of what would be better:
By moving from a place of memory and grief into a place of creativity and visioning a better future, we put ourselves in a positive and empowering place to create more of what is most meaningful and supportive to us. We begin to imagine our life beyond our previous reality into a space of newness and possibility, all while coming from a wiser and more experienced place of life. Maybe there were things we never had room for, or things that weren't important and took up too much space. In the newness of what we really want more and less of in our future, we can decide what is most important to us now and how we will cultivate a space for more of what we love as a way to help us release what no longer serves us from the past.
- Anne Ruthmann
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