Jonah days

I am a Anne of Green Gables fan. The books are magical and so beautifully written.  One of the sayings I have picked up from Anne is I'm have a Jonah day.  you know.....those days were nothing goes right.  Everything seems to go to custard just as Jonah's day went. 



I found a list of things that I had written a few years ago of what had happened in 2 weeks in my home.  On the list was a stomach bug that went through the whole family,  a cold that went though the whole family,  My littlest was recovering from plastic surgery and when he came out of the bandage for that he fractured his elbow,  My hubby had put a hoe into his ankle I had cut my finger on a rotary blade while quilting and my grandparent and my husband's grandparents were all in hospital and I was recovering from post natal depression.  It was a Jonah fortnight. 

Life is just like that we all have bad days,  weeks, months and sometimes even years.  Jonah caused a lot of his problems himself, other challenges were out of his control. Sometimes we cause our own problems and sometimes things just happen to us.  Whatever way it happens, none of us are immune to them, whether we like it or not.

We need to have challenge in our lives to help us grow, learn and to develop relationships.  Have you ever noticed that after a tough time you seem to grow more, you have more resources to get over a future problem and more knowledge to help others.  Challenge is vital in the world we live in. 

Getting over challenge can be very demanding though.  I find the hardest challenges to rise above are ones that other people cause me.  When I cause them myself I can make changes,  sort out issues and work though things faster and easier because they are my problems.  Other that are forced on me are much more challenging.  I don't have control over others choices and decisions and how they want to deal with them. For example If I say something to hurt someone I can apologize and make it up to that person but they have to choose whether to accept the apology and forgive you.  If that doesn't happen another set of problems may arise.

How can we work though challenge? The first thing I always do is work out what I am responsible for and how can I fix it? I have learnt it is better to sort things out quickly than leave it?  It just always get harder if it is left.  I don't think about doing it, I just think about what I will do to sort it out.   Face the problem head on.



Others peoples problems aren't as easy especially ones that leave you picking up the pieces.  Open communication helps sometimes but not always.  Sometimes we just have get on and do our best with what we have.  Deal with is in the best manner and the try and move on. I find sometimes in these situations I need a paradigm shift or in other words I need to look at things differently.

Looking at the experience from another point of view or from a different angle can change the experience quite dramatically.  For example challenges with a teenager can be easier if I think about the little child hiding in an adults body or remembering that with all beautiful rose thorns are present too.  Just a small change in my attitude can change an experience.  It will never remove it but it can make it easier to bear.

The other type of challenge we can face is just life's challenges.  For example sickness,  death,  losing a job.  No one is really to blame.  They are things that just happen in life.  Talking to someone,  taking time out,  recharging your batteries when you can and doing something you love, can all all help to get though these experiences.  I find being creative helps me the most. Try and find something that works for you.  We are all different and we all have different needs.  We need to work out what is right for ourselves. 

Remember

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging"

Joseph Campbell