Gathering Support

Rallying the Troops

When a crisis strikes, we often feel compelled to go it alone. It may be that we view seeking out others in times of trouble as a weakness or believe that it is our duty to handle problems alone. However, dealing with extremely stressful situations single-handeldy can create a sense of isolation leading to even more stress, which in turn can lead to depression and anxiety. Utilizing your personal support network, or rallying your troops, helps you maintain a sense of belonging, determination, and self-esteem in times of crisis. Your friends, family, and your spiritual guardians can be a source of comfort, guidance, and simple practical help. Calling on not one friends, but all those who care for you, can help you persevere through innumerable trying situations.

You may or may not wany advice, but simply letting your support network know that you are going through and knowing that they are there to support you will make a positive difference. In doing so, you will have an entire team bolstering your spirit. Your troops may be just a passive source of positive energy or they may be more active helpers, offering solutions to your problem, commenting on your choices, or sharing their own experiences in a similar situation. They can also be an impartial sounding board from which you can bounce ideas before coming to a conclusion. You can rally your spirit guide, favorite angel, or other ethereal troops by contacting them in your customary way and asking for help. Support will come from all sides when you rally your troops, giving you great strengh, encouragement, and the will to move forward, even when the necessary action is a difficult one.

You can rally your troops during all manner of tough times big or small. When you feel the need to do so, e-mail or call everyone in your support network and ask for help in the spiritual realm. Having your team behind you can make such a difference because the feeling that others are with you is a powerful one.

Selected Relations

Choosing Your Family

Everyone has a right to surround themselves with supportive, accepting, and loving people. The selection of those people can be expressive of a large variety of relationships: parents, children, friends, extended family, or even caregivers. Many people put the highest priority on their familial relationships, but it is not unusual to find that one's values, goals, or choices differ from those of one's family. You may not feel that your personality is a good match with the members of your family. On the other hand, your outlook may be significantly different from that of your relatives. When that is the case, it is only natural to begin creating a network of friends and confidants that give you the closeness and security that was lacking in your family relationships.

Preferring friends to family, occasionally or all the time is entirely normal and is in no way reflective of any failing on your part. Your relationship with family members can be compared to a relationship with coworkers-circumstance has joined you together and you can make the best of it without finding it satisfying. In forming your own "family," you are given the opportunity to let go of the resentment and stress associated with your biological family and to choose wha trelationships you feel are meaningful. You may find you enjoy spending time with your created family more than you enjoy spending time with your traditional family. This should not be a source of guilt. Life is too short to associate wth people simply because you feel an obligation, particularly if those people are hurtful or judgmental. You are better served associating with people who you find kind, who inspire you, and with whom you can relax, whether they are friend, family, or loved one.

Forming your own fmaly dose not mean you need to entirely distance yourself from you biological family. It simply means you can interact with them freely when necessary, kowning that you have built up a healthy support network of people who give you the love you need. Creating your own fmaily is a means to establishing an enviroment that is positive, nurturing and, ultimately, lastingly rewarding.