Sensitivity and Coping

Often we admire those who seem to have high levels of coping skills — people who, whether through years of practice or natural temperament, can evaluate stressful situations and meet them with focus and centeredness.

In the Marines, when faced with chaos, conflict, or physical hardship, soldiers are trained to improvise, adapt, and overcome. That mindset allows them to move through difficulty on every level — physical, mental, and spiritual.

Most of us don't have a military background. We bump up against an array of challenges — family, financial, work-related — and we feel them in full force. What's most interesting is that it is our sensitive, loving side that absorbs the pain. When someone hurls a hurtful arrow and we feel wounded, it is our capacity for love that is at work.

We don't want to overwork that sensitive muscle. We live in an opinionated world like never before, and those opinions can cut deep when directed at us. And then the voice inside our heads finds places to agree with what was said. We convince ourselves, on some level, that the person was right in their judgment.

But we are all seeking a more harmonious frequency. Like the Marines, we need to navigate around the low vibrations of those who judge, and learn to rise above the pull of negative thinking — in others and in ourselves.

Listen to your heart. Your inner voice can be a bright light, if you give it love and believe in who you are — not in what others think.

Believe in possibilities. That is what makes you sing in the morning. Find that energy in yourself and embrace it.

In every story, in every life, there is conflict and resolution. Dorothy made it home. ET made it home. Cinderella had her day. Write your own story — one day at a time, with love and understanding. Your home is where inner peace exists.