In the last two months, my life has been turned upside down and sideways by two major family crises. Everyone will eventually be fine but it has been challenging to say the least.

I have done my best to manage everything and kept thinking to myself, what am I meant to learn here? So I decided to write down five tools and tricks that I’ve been using myself to maintain my level of inner peace, even when things seem to be falling apart all around me.

1. Stay Present – I may not be the best at practicing mindfulness but in these times, it has certainly helped to just be living in the moment because you don’t know what else may be there. Staying focused on the exact moment, the feelings and making sure that you are giving love, can help. As with all crises, this too shall pass, the sun does eventually come back out.
2. Prioritize – when you’ve got things coming down at you from many directions, it is a matter of figuring out what is most important and focus only on that. All else can wait. We knew with the situation that we faced, that it would require our full focus and energy and therefore we cleared all the other major projects that we had coming. It just wasn’t going to be viable to take on big projects in the middle of having to deal with a crisis. Family comes first above all else and this was definitely the right decision for us at this time.
3. Reframe – I’m a big believer that things happen for a bigger reason. It can be hard to see that when you’re in the middle of having your life falling apart around you. But if you can lift yourself up to become an observer of your life, you can then start to ask, what is the lesson from this experience? Our attitude is what will make a difference in your outlook and how well you can manage. Reframing helps to make sense out of chaos.
4. Trust – Life doesn’t happen TO us, it happens FOR us. If you can break out of the victim mentality of things happening to you and instead realize there must be something in the crisis for you to learn, you become empowered. There are times when you just need to surrender and allow the process, without being attached to the outcome. This is NOT easy but when you can trust that the Universe (or insert the word/name that resonates with you) will take care of you, you can move past the pain and suffering and into a place of gratitude and love…and peace.
5. Self-Care – I can’t emphasis this enough! Be kind to yourself. Get extra sleep. Eat well and get some exercise. Do things that make you happy and listen to uplifting music, even if only for a little mental escapism so that you can feel better. In the middle of the first crisis, I was hit with a horrible flu. For a week, I was sleeping 10 hours a night. I haven’t gotten that much sleep in years! But my body needed it and I allowed myself the “luxury”, although it was more of a necessity. Pamper yourself in whatever ways you can so that you can be strong for others.

Crises and chaos are a part of life. And especially during these very turbulent times, I believe we are facing a massive clearing. Things are being brought to light in everyone’s lives so that we can deal with issues and move on energetically. It seems like so many people are facing tough challenges right now. Know you are not alone and there are tools that can help you manage. Collectively, we will all get through these challenging times and I have faith some really amazing times are just around the corner for humanity.