Challenging Economic Times

About a week and a half ago- large banking institutions (our most trusted names in the financial industry- Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, AIG) started to wobble and were on the verge of failure. Some went bankrupt, some were sold and some were taken over. The US treasury secretary, Hank Paulson came up with a bail out plan that he thought would bring confidence back to the US and global markets.

Financial uncertainty

As time went on, the government was unable to agree to this plan and the lack of confidence in our banking system caused widespread panic. Over this past weekend, policy makers attempted to come to an agreement on a revised bail out plan. Today it went to vote, and failed. The US equity market had its largest one-day drop in ten years. There continues to be across the board financial uncertainty about which banking institution may go bankrupt next and therefore whether our money is safe. Needless to say, everyone feels “up in the air” as to what will happen next. As a nation who collectively holds an unknown financial future- today, an anxious feeling is commonplace.

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Hurricane Ike Turns Life Inside Out

My family survived hurricane Ike with minimal damage. We now have power restored. As of this morning, so many Houstonians (about 1.5 million) are still without electricity- and so my house has become “home” for my friend’s kids, washing clothes and filling coolers with ice. The good news being progress is made every day and a beautiful 70 degrees Fahrenheit temperature outside provides a welcomed relief from our usual September heat.

Anxiety mode
My community is now officially declared a disaster area. It would be easy to fall into the “anxiety mode” of feeling overwhelmed with life being turned inside out. Many feelings are surfacing- such as- “how can I best lend support to my community” or “hurricane guilt” as my home survived with minimal damage and many of my friend’s houses did not.

Keeping calm and staying focused
Staying calm and keeping focused with the task at hand keeping my awareness on the present moment. These tools are my pillars of strength. They allow me to avoid becoming overwhelmed with the current situation.

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What’s in Your Bag?

Traveling along I-10, heading west out of Houston, leaving a powerful hurricane Ike, a home (and all that goes in it) behind. Uncertainty floods through me. What we will be there on our return? I notice an intense feeling coming face to face with me – the unknown possibility that projects into my future.

Gratitude

Somehow this uncertain feeling feels OK. It feels a little exciting. This new realm of possibility – letting go of the fear – and embracing with gratitude what I have at this moment. I am grateful for my family, two extra friends with us, a comfortable car and no traffic.  Gratitude is the single most effective tool I know how to use to endure anything life hands out. Thankfulness is something that sits in my back pocket- innocently waiting to be pulled out and used as needed. Traveling light feels good. It gives me a sense of freedom. A feeling of weightlessness comes over me.

Our “things” help us understand

To create enough room for all seven of us plus our dog we each brought one small bag. Packing quickly left little time to contemplate over what to bring and what not to bring, and so instincts took over as to what was chosen for the journey.  Driving across Texas, I thought to myself how interesting it would be to see what everyone had included in his or her personal bag. That these “things” may be a fun way to help us uncover what our belongings symbolize, why we chose what we did without much thought or perhaps help us understand how these possessions shape who we are.

What’s in his or her bag?

I began to ask everyone, “What’s in your bag?” To my surprise, everyone was eager to volunteer his or her bags’ contents. My teenage daughters, Sarah and Allie led off in unison with, “favorite jeans, shoes, shirts, ipod.”  Only one item differed between them – one classified “an essential” as a tube of mascara and the other chose her indispensable laptop.  Our friend Danny gathered his items into a paper bag – polo shirt, cell phone (with charger) and his favorite rap CD “Lil Wayne.” Our other friend Ian brought his phone, favorite t-shirt, wallet (with social security card) and sunglasses all neatly packed into a backpack. My teenage son, Sam included gaming equipment, a spy novel, a can of Coke, gym shorts and also mentioned he was barefoot and brought no shoes. My husband’s bag included his Barons financial newspaper, a pair of jeans, running shoes and his tweezers (just in case). And for me, my essential comforts- yoga pants, spiral notebook, roller-ball pen,  herb tea and mala rosary beads.

Life is full of twists and turns

Sharing our bag’s contents with one another was fun, a way to pass the time and get to know each other just a little bit better. It opened up a portal. A window to self-discovery, to letting go of material things and remembering that life is full of interesting twists and turns- I wouldn’t have it any other way.What’s in your bag?

Calm Before the Storm

Living in Houston brings with it moments of Hurricane season “thrills,” keeping us Houstonians diligently and humbly aware of Mother Nature and how her powerful force can change life on a dime.

Here is a glimpse of my life the day before Ike arrived… keeping calm before the storm.

Heading out early (6am) morning to fuel up our cars and buy some bottled water, batteries and a few cans of beans, protein bars and assorted snacks. Our local media is broadcasting round the clock and it can really whip the general population into a panicked frenzy. It is easy to get mesmerized by the continual feed of updates, weather predictions and tips for enduring the storm. Preparing early and turning off the TV and radio for periodic breaks during the day helps me stay unflustered.

While out doing my errands in preparation for Ike – I caught a moment of what I thought would be a great “photo” to capture the general feeling of “preparing for a hurricane”

This is a description of what my photograph would look like-

The marquee above the freeway which normally flashes traffic flow information reads- “Hurricane forming in the gulf- fill your gas tank” while simultaneously two pick-up trucks heading south carrying full loads of ply wood  

read on…health central-calm before the storm