Are You Struggling to Get Through a Disaster?

A few years back, we found ourselves in the same situation facing the reidents of Montecito, California right now.  We had a mudslide come through our home.  It was a mess.  We faced financial ruin, physical and emotional losses, fear (lots of fear) and the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing where to go for help.

Fortunately we had a great church community  They were our rock during the worst of it.  Government help was not available.  Insurance money was not available.  As I said, it was a mess.  But we got through it.

That’s really my message here.  You can do it too.  You can survive and, more than that, you can go on to thrive.  That may be so far from your mind.  It’s more likely that you are feeling overwhelmed with no vision of a future at all.

But I repeat.  You can get past this disaster, regardless of the circumstances.  You can survive, rebuild, refocus and go on to thrive.  You can make choices to let go of anything that isn’t working in your life.  You can embrace what you loved and reincorporate it into the new lifestyle you create.

I write about our journey back in my book, Rainbows Over Ruins. What’s important to know is that we not only survived, we now feel as if we are thriving.  The finances worked out in a couple years.  We have a new community, with new friends and business opportunities.  Our home is closer to what  we had always envisioned, but never imagined achieving.  Our lifestyle fits us to a “T.”   And I feel as if I am at the apex of my career.  It’s a far cry from the night we stood outside the house that was filled with mud and looked on helplessly at the boulders piled from ground to rooftop behind the house.

I went on to create a 12 episode podcast series, “Bebuilding Your Life: Moving from Disaster to Prosperity.”  It’s on iTunes and Stitcher.  It’s designed to take you through the steps to get past a disaster.  There are some wonderful people who participated to help others by sharing their own experiences.  There’s no charge to hear that information.      I also wrote a free Survivor’s Guide with tips to help you get through this experience.  It’s available at www.GiftFromSusan.com.

These are all available to help you get your feet back on the ground  If you are reading this and have friends going through this experience, please share this post with them.  It’s very lonely on the down side of a disaster.  Help seems so far away.  And if these shares can help inspire someone to begin to rebuild, they will have served their purpose.

Please stay in touch.  Let me know how you are doing.  Share your questions.  Working together, we can plot a course to move past these life events.

I believe in you,

Susan