Day 47: Crisis

When I think of the word, crisis, I tend to think of things of a global scale.  The hunger crisis.  An earthquake.  A flood. 

Or I think of personal tragedy.  The death of a child.  A terrible car accident.  Divorce.

Rarely do I think of small, seemingly insignificant events, that in the heat of the moment seem large, but in hindsight seem tiny and trivial.

For most of us, if we are lucky, we are never going to experience global crisis, or even incredibly serious personal tragedy.

So the crisis we know IS the day to day, seemingly insignificant trivial events.

But I would guess that strung together, it is the day to day crises that takes its toll on a family, a friendship, a marriage, a relationship.  They elevate our heart rate, our blood pressure, our cortisol levels, our adrenaline and our survival instincts.  Strung together, these small daily crises can become epic in our lives.

Enjoying the moments that are filled with laughter, therefore,  becomes all the more important. 

Cherishing the small victories,

laughing at our own mistakes and the mistakes of others,

and letting go of the stress of the crisis of the moment becomes critical.

All that to say, a rich, peaceful, abundant life will be filled with daily crisis.  It's what we do during the crisis and beyond that determines how epic the impact will be.  I find a big deep breath and the ability to laugh at myself keeps things small and in perspective. Usually. :)  And when that doesn't work, wine and chocolate help.