There’s nothing like your house burning down to the ground five days before Christmas to challenge your belief system. It was a home that my husband built with his own hands 17 years earlier and the nest we created while raising our five children. In an instant, or for us personally it took 10+ hours, our entire lives had changed course. The physical structure burned down along with everything inside that made our house feel like a home; all our personal belongings, my work, childhood photos, family keepsakes, and the Christmas tree we decorated the night before.
An experience such as this induces moments of transformation and great discovery. A fire of this magnitude quickly clears unnecessary burdens and promotes an inventorying and reprioritization of what really matters. Everyday since that day, I have been blessed with many up close examples of love, compassion, generosity, and kindness. These experiences have been vital to my family’s healing and highlighted important life lessons.
1. RELATIONSHIPS
Nothing matters as much as family, friends, and even new relationships formed with others who bring forth points of light in the darkness. That authentic bond shared between individuals is what holds you up during life-altering experiences, helps you see the goodness in humanity and believe in possibilities.
2. GRATITUDE
There are blessings throughout every challenge, no matter the tragedy. Those who remain open, bare witness to a continual unfolding of magical uplifting messages. It simply takes stillness and some space to recognize those gifts from God and the universe. Gratitude is contagious. Whenever someone shares a story of appreciation, others around them will bring forth more examples, and so on.
3. SIGNIFICANCE
We don’t need all the stuff we collect over the years, even if your home has enough space to store everything. Prioritize the things that really matter and use them, place valuables somewhere safe, take photos of keepsakes and important papers, transfer videos to digital formats (and be sure to share with your family), and save everything to the cloud!
4. SPIRIT
Things you can buy (no matter how expensive) don’t define you. YOU define you, especially during challenging times. Take an intimate look inside yourself, trust the beauty and wonderfulness of your spirit, acknowledge your contribution to this world and disconnect your worth from any materialistic possessions.
5. CONNECTION
Just show up for people who have had something tragic happen in their lives. Show up, be there, bring blankets, send comfort food, roll up your sleeves and help, or just stand with them. These physical and emotional connections mean the world to anyone whose life has been turned upside down by any challenging situation.
Our gratitude is beyond measure for having our family survive. The wonderful memories we made in that home along with countless examples of kindness and compassion shared during its destruction have carried us through. This fire surely destroyed our home and may have even snuffed our spirits for a couple of minutes, but the lessons learned were tremendous catalysts in helping us rise up from the ashes.