For the past few weeks, my family of origin has been dealing with one of the primordial stresses of human life – the impending passing of an elder. It’s never easy to deal with, but it’s especially hard in the midst of a global pandemic and at a distance of nearly 10,000 km. Thankfully we have Zoom and WhatsApp, but it’s not the same as being there. It’s not a great time to travel.

With everything that has been going on, I found myself being short and snappy with my loved ones who are right here. Manitoba is still mostly locked down, although things are slowly getting better, so there haven’t been a lot of opportunities to distract myself from the kind of introspection I clearly need. 

So why am I telling you all this? Because this difficult time is an opportunity for me to work on some long-buried issues that I have conveniently not had to deal with, being so far away from everyone else in my family. As the saying goes, you can run but you can’t hide, not forever. One thing I have been learning in the last few years is that you can’t keep running, either. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you, asking the same questions, telling the same tired old stories. It’s time to stop running and look the stories in the face. As Byron Katie asks us, are they even true? Who would I be without these stories? A more peaceful person, maybe?

For the past six years I have been amassing the tools to help myself and others deal with the stories that are keeping us from being our best selves and fulfilling our glorious mission here on earth. I’ve been handed a powerful opportunity to use them, and I gratefully accept the challenge – to learn how to turn old pain into lasting joy and gratitude.It’s a form of emotional alchemy, but I have seen enough people go before me to know that it can be done.

How about you, have you ever been that kind of emotional alchemist too? I’d love to hear anything you are comfortable sharing.