We are often taught to believe that our restoration for “being good” or for pulling through tough circumstances will come when we get to heaven. That may or may not be true. 

I feel that our true restoration comes when we move past pain, past fear, past grief and loss to see the new possibilities that have opened up to us and step into them.

While some of us can do this on our own, others of us become entangled in the circling noises that prevent us from refocusing and moving forward.

In the same way that some people can spontaneously heal themselves while others require a skilled doctor’s care, some of us require help to move past that which holds us in its grips. Several things contribute to this entrapment.

Several things contribute to this entrapment.

a) When we become too focused on the negative aspects of our circumstance, it becomes difficult to get back into the positives of life. This becomes even more difficult when those around us are caught in the same trap. It’s like a group of people caught in a whirlpool, all holding on to each other, and all going down together. In order to escape this trap, you may have to separate yourself from negative influences (temporarily or permanently), and seek a dedicated, focused commitment in finding the positive in all you experience day by day.

b) When the body’s physical chemistry becomes out of balance or dysfunctional, you may need to first restore the chemical balance to help you clear the fog. This could be as simple as changing your diet and/or adding supplementation, to as complicated as needing a doctor’s care to document and correct what’s misaligned there.

c) When life comes at you from every angle and you feel like you’re on a roller coaster that’s careening out of control, it’s difficult to find any measure of peace. In times like these, sometimes the best you can do is the best you can do. Locking the door to take a bath, taking a solitude walk in the park, or simply sitting quietly away from the fray may be the only moments you find to refocus. Use what you can get and make it work.

What I do know is that beyond pain, beyond loss, beyond fear, lies possibility. When we allow ourselves to open the door to potential, tremendous, surprising, almost-unbelievable things can happen, and these possibilities usually go beyond the visions of ourselves, but also include the potential for a better world.

As we climb the ladder of ascension in our lives, we move past self, past family, into a far more reaching, global aspiration and hope. We learn that restoration can come now, in this world, in this life, and to those we reach out to help.