DO YOU SEEK THE SILVER LINING?

Some of you know that I've had a very challenging 8 months. A traumatic personal event happened last September, followed closely by my Facebook business page with 41,000 followers being h a c k e d (have to space out the letters or get more) -- and it still is despite over 120 e-mails and calls to Facebook / Meta and now hiring a lawyer. This was my primary way of communicating with new clients (lesson learned) so it's caused a big disruption in my work, my income and my equanimity, to put it nicely. Oh and they're posting porn with my business name on it. My cat also passed. And there's more.

Sharing this to provide background.

All the wonderful people I know have said, "something good will come of it." I would have said the same to someone going through a life tornado.

Buddha -- you know him -- said, "Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." I was a religion major so I've pondered that quite a lot. Put simply, it could mean don't dwell on the bad stuff.

I've sure as heck learned a lot about h a c k ing, not that that's what I seek.

It's actually been a lot like Covid. Anything that jolts us out of our familiar ways of doing things will feel disruptive and scary and has the potential for great reward because a fresh perspective is what an evolving life is all about.

Courage and play = innovation. When you're knocked upside the head and thrown to the curb, maybe you'll see something on the curb you never would have seen if you hadn't been thrown there. In fact, I'll say you'll definitely see something you wouldn't have seen because who would willingly plant their face on the curb?

I've just experienced the first concrete cool thing to occur from this tornado, I'm so happy to say. I connected with a well-known and awesome designer / writer because I responded to an article of hers I never would have responded to had this all not happened.

She wrote me back because she appreciated my comments so much which led to her checking out my work, being very complementary, giving me a free session with her plus inviting me to her Mastermind with free sessions. She's someone I've admired for many years: a columnist for Oprah and author of 40 witty and smart personal development books. I'll be sharing her work. I'm so excited to get to engage with her.

Any turn you take will naturally lead places another turn wouldn't have.

Another thing good people I know and I have talked about in dealing with all this is that it really isn't what happens to you in life (Buddha's pain point); it's what you do / how you respond to what happens to you that both shows you who you are and is the real opportunity.

What will you make of your curb-knocking s**tshow life tornadoes? There's beauty in them there clouds, even amidst the muck.