by Kevin Emery

Created on: January 25, 2009

There is a difference between living in hard economic times and living hard times. When we hear that a period of global, national or regional hard economic times is coming, we immediately start to make decisions, and often enter into a fearful thought processes that set us up to experience hard times when living in them. But it is possible to live in hard times without living hard times.

Think about how we react when we are in an area affected by a hurricane warning. We know the hurricane is out there, and we might get hit hard. But if we are lucky, we might only get hit by the edge of it, or perhaps it could miss us all together. Do you stand, paralyzed by fear, praying for deliverance? Do you run and stick your head in the sand, thinking if you don't look, the storm won't come? The better approach, of course, is to say a quick prayer, then hope for best and prepare for the worst. If you think you can stay, you stock up on food and good drinking water, board up the windows, do your best to protect everything and everyone the best you can, and then keep going.

In a time where there will be changes in the way the world operates and tough decisions will undoubtedly need to be made, there maybe some scary and painful moments. But the best approach is always to pray, prepare, and take action.

That does not mean you should wrap yourself in scarcity or anger. Nor does it mean you should point fingers of blame towards individuals or groups of people that may seem different from yourself. However, it is important to take responsibility for anything you could have done differently that allowed greed and dishonesty to go unquestioned, or even supported. Did you refinance your home to support a lifestyle that was inflated beyond your means? Have you irresponsibly spent money on yourself or your children to keep up with the neighbors, impress others, or as a way of buying off your parental responsibilities?

Did you vote? Were you an informed voter and did you ask questions? Did you support things for an immediate buck that you were pretty sure would have negative long term consequences? And most importantly, did you spend the majority of your resources (time, money and energy) on making your outside world look good when you were suffering on the inside? Have you invested in healing your inner landscape, or did you simply keep trying to hide it through investing in a better looking exterior?

Other things, that we must do is to; recognize and be grateful for all the blessings we do have in our life, to focus on those blessings, to openly and often communicate with our higher selves, Spirit and all those divine support systems that are open to us and lastly to take care of ourselves on all levels. By recognizing and counting those blessings, we may also draw from them, in the times of our greatest need, the strength that we need

Hard economic times are coming. They do that sometimes to remind us of what is important in life and to help us develop a more mature perspective. While hard times may not be pleasant, they can help remind of us what is truly essential. And if we are lucky, they help us to become kinder, more responsible, human beings. So before you start arm chair quarter backing, ask yourself, "Where was I and what was I doing during the creation of this storm?" and even more importantly, "What can I do now?"

And remember, the best way to not live hard times while living in hard times, is to heal, strengthen, and develop your inner landscape.

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