‘Do you have your power back?’

If you’ve been watching the news at all, you know that here in Atlanta we’ve been hard hit with drenching rains and flash floods – fast flowing, record reaching and devastating in their destruction. While the creek behind our house rose far beyond its banks, sweeping away a 20 ft bridge, wiping out our AC and creating chaos in the landscape, we are the lucky ones amidst so many who have lost so much.

All this led me to pull myself up short when I texted yet another friend to ask if her electricity had been restored: “do u hve ur pwr bk?” And then my mental light bulb came on. When some force of nature or man hits us out of the blue, nothing can take us from multi-tasking to laser-like single focus faster. In this case quite literally not only does it turn out the lights, it can truly zap of us of our power… to act, to rebound, to see the good still around us.

And then it struck me. We DO have a choice in one thing, at least, even in the worst of times. We can re-claim our power by paying attention and listening to ourselves. Observing how we look at things. What mental stand we take. What we say when we talk to ourselves.

For me, the glass is ¾ full. I still have my home mostly intact, and my family is safe and healthy. And for that I am truly and profoundly thankful.

The next time you catch yourself in deep despair over disaster, personal or global, Stop. Notice. And then flip the switch on your own personal ‘transformer.’ I think you’ll find that you get your power back lots faster than the utility company truck can arrive!