{"id":100,"date":"2021-04-11T17:15:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T23:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/?p=100"},"modified":"2021-04-11T17:15:04","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T23:15:04","slug":"life-skills-for-surviving-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/life-skills-for-surviving-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice From Shark-Infested Waters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Gail Lowe<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is anyone ever prepared for a life-altering crisis?\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our day started like any other day and ended with a back injury that left my husband with crippling pain.  Eventually he had surgery where they fused his back using rods and screws and bone grafts to stabilize his spine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In less than two minutes, an accident altered the course of our lives.  It took years of purposeful living to rebuild.  The following are lessons from our survival manual.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn fast.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out what to do in the middle of a crisis felt like learning how to swim in shark-infested waters.  If I wanted to survive, I had to learn fast.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate your fear of today from your fear of tomorrow.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When things went sideways, fear became my constant companion.  Suddenly, I had become responsible for everything.  I worried that if I let go of a single thread the whole family would simply unravel.  Once I had all of those threads securely fastened, I felt calmer.  Even though we were facing an uncertain future, I had today organized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hang onto normal.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just because one part of our normal was broken, I didn\u2019t throw the healthy parts away.  I held on to our existing routines whenever possible, it helped the kids feel safe and brought me comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get help.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When family and friends offered to help, I let them.  [Ask the bank for extensions on loans and mortgage payments.  Use the food bank if you have to.  Let the schools know, teachers are a support system for your children.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was hard to stop working.  I felt as if I was one step ahead of a landslide.  Then I realized that I was in it for the long haul and exhaustion, whether it\u2019s physical, mental or emotional, created more problems than it solved.  I learned to focus on my breath and shut off my mind.  If it wouldn\u2019t stop talking I would think the word \u201cin\u201d as I breathed in and \u201cout\u201d on the exhale.  [Ear plugs help to quiet an extra stubborn mind.  It increases the sound of your breath while shutting out the rest of the world.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accept what is.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of all the things I needed to learn, acceptance proved to be the hardest.  Even now, I have times when I do the \u201cif only\u201d.  If only my husband hadn\u2019t gone to work that day, if only there was a way to fix his back.  There is a lot of grief when a person\u2019s life is irreversibly altered.  Focusing on the good frees you of the past.  The anger, the fighting against what is, traps you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look for happiness.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start small.  I listened to my kids laughing, looked for their smiles and watched them play.  I found moments that made me happy and stretched them out into minutes.  A song, a cup of tea when nothing needed to be done or a snuggle with my husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold on to your future.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every day I looked in the mirror and told myself I was strong enough, that we were headed in the right direction and everything was going to be ok.  I stubbornly stayed in that place because, how was any other belief going to help me?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new normal.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new normal arrived without fanfare.  No fireworks.  No parade.  Just fewer moments of pain, and longer periods of predictable, everyday life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I learned in those shark-infested waters became my life skills: \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Text<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t believe that anyone can truly be prepared for a life-altering crisis.  But we can recognize the importance of life skills and have our survival manual ready before we need it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Free Download:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download and print the life skills list as my gift to you,<\/strong>
and remember to Breathe.<\/strong> – Gail Lowe<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is anyone ever prepared for a life-altering crisis? I wasn\u2019t. In less than two minutes, an accident altered the course of our lives. It took years of purposeful living to rebuild. The following are lessons from our survival manual. – Gail Lowe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"ADVICE FROM SHARK-INFESTED WATERS\nby #GailLowe\n\nIs anyone ever prepared for a life-altering crisis? I wasn\u2019t... an accident altered the course of our lives. These are lessons from our survival manual... #TCLA #CrisisSurvival #Lessons #Coping #Healing","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20,19,31],"tags":[34,35,37,32,36,33],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fear","category-insight","category-inspiration","tag-coping","tag-crisis","tag-lessons-i-have-learned","tag-life-skills","tag-survival","tag-surviving","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":119,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/tame-the-dragon\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":0},"title":"Tame The Dragon","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I am in the process of taming my dragon. I write while it\u2019s sleeping or preoccupied with some other dragon-worthy pursuit. But eventually, it pins its fiery gaze on my work and burns words to ash. Rubbish, it snorts, slinking back into its cave, leaving me to wonder why I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiration"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiration","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Blog_Gail_Dragon2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/writing-can-be-murder\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":1},"title":"Writing Can Be Murder","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"April 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gail Lowe \u201cHow to Commit the Perfect Murder was an old game in heaven. I always chose the icicle: the weapon melts away.\u201d\u2013 \u00a0Alice Sebold,\u00a0The Lovely Bones I\u2019m figuring out how to commit murder.\u00a0 The method and weapon still elude me although I have decided on the location and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo of a black bird","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/the-thing-about-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":2},"title":"The Thing About Stars","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"December 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Winter Solstice, or Yule, will soon be upon us. December 21st will be a night of fire pushing back the cold. Flames dancing up from the fire pit to cast shadows over sleeping trees and snow-covered grass. Gravity-defying sparks breaking free from flame in a doomed attempt to join\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Dec2020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Dec2020.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Dec2020.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Dec2020.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":150,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/stop-judging-from-the-gap\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":3},"title":"Stop Judging From the Gap","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"July 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"How many hidden ideals do you have in your life that keep you from feeling like a success?They hide behind sneaky little self-judgements like I didn\u2019t get all the laundry done, or I only exercised twice this week, not four times like I swore I would after eating popcorn and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Insight"","block_context":{"text":"Insight","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/insight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Blog_Gail_finish.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/it-starts-with-an-idea\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":4},"title":"It Starts with an Idea","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"June 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gail Lowe Sometimes it drops into your mind complete with ribbon and bow. Sometimes you get a picture, a few words, and your mind has to chase the story down one sentence at a time. It doesn\u2019t matter how it arrives. It\u2019s what you do with it. I\u2019m an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GailJune2020C.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GailJune2020C.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GailJune2020C.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/portals-in-your-home-and-how-to-use-them-properly\/","url_meta":{"origin":100,"position":5},"title":"Portals in Your Home, and How to Use Them Properly","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"January 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Dimensional travel has fascinated me ever since I watched the movie What the Bleep Do We Know. I was hooked by all the possible science scenarios I could use in my writing, especially the idea of travelling by portal. - Gail Lowe","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}