How to be kind to yourself during difficult times in life. 

These are challenging times. 

We are all going through the same storm as humanity, but not all of us are on the same ship facing the same experiences. 

As we all go through these moments of uncertainty, some of you might be thinking how you are going to pay your bills this week or this month.

Some of may be wondering how to keep your health and  immune system high. 

Some of you are concerned about your loved ones, children or elderly parents. 

We are all in a different boat but in the same storm and regardless, the storm is the storm. 

And, these are difficult moments. 

My preference is for stability. But nothing remains constant. As the inevitable challenges of life confront me, at the deepest level I know I am constantly evolving into more. And yet that seismic shift can feel radically uncomfortable because paradoxically, all of the events that are unfolding are serving to shake me loose of the need for stability. Recently, nature in all her benevolence slapped me upside the head with a tangible reminder of how to release control and embrace surrender in the moments when I am most afraid.

My life has been lived in the eye of the storm literally and figuratively over the past 12 months We are approaching the one-year anniversary of our precious two-year-old, Celeste’s, catastrophic heart failure. And today marks two weeks since the most powerful storm in the history of the Atlantic, Hurricane Irma, plowed through our Southwest Florida community.

I already know the obvious question… why didn’t we get the Sam hell out of Dodge in advance of a Category 5 hurricane?