Happiness in Troubled Times

It’s been a rough summer – no sugarcoating it. In the world, there’s been a raft of mass shootings, suicides, political and corporate corruption, angry rhetoric, and division. At home, there was a damaging hailstorm, unexpected bills, medical and dental problems, and friends in crisis.

There’s been a feeling of stagnation and delay, wasted effort, and inadequate outcomes. It’s enough to make anyone start to question their path, priorities, and methods.

Doing a card reading for myself, exploring frustration at slow progress, the guidance was applicable on a much larger scale. (Cards are from Wisdom of the Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid).

Unfinished Symphony appears in readings when clients have too many irons in the fire. We scatter energy and spread ourselves thin with a huge slate of tasks – many untouched or left undone. This card is a signal to prioritize and focus in order to finish.

When one dream project is started and abandoned, loose ends can snare us around the ankles, tripping us up. For me, student loan payments siphon off money I’d like to invest in my work. But it’s deeper than that. I’ve not processed resentment at trusting a private, for-profit college that knowingly promised non-existent careers. It's a shadow 10 years later.

The lesson is acceptance and forgiveness. I made a mistake but learned to successfully invest in myself instead. I can forgive myself for falling prey to a confidence trickster. I’ve gained empathy and compassion for others who’ve been down that road. It’s time to love myself, value my education (academic, emotional, and spiritual), and move on.

Forgiving the university’s predatory admissions process is harder. I’m choosing to release bitterness because it only hurts me. Karma will balance the debt. As a metaphysician, I know making the monthly payments without blame or judgment will make the money easier to attain.

Some lessons come with a higher price than others, but if we grow and help others from the experience, it can be worth it. Perceived mistakes can be important milestones on our journey into truth.

What’s holding you back? Is it unpaid bills, an overwhelming to-do list, or projects you can’t finish on your own? Could it be mistakes for which you haven’t forgiven yourself? A broken relationship from which you still need recovery? Lingering trauma? Staying somewhere too long when your true path was elsewhere?

We need critical assessment. Not every relationship is meant to be permanent – and some are unhealthy or unsafe and need to end. Jobs can have an expiration date. Lingering in a setting that no longer fits can lead to burnout. Maybe the unfinished projects don’t reflect your passion and ought to be released – or they whisper irrational fears of failure and cry out for triumphant completion.

Know when to ask for help and seek collaboration in order to conclude what’s necessary. Be honest about what is past its due date, no longer serves you, or otherwise needs to be released.

Living in the past cheats the present. A woman attended a shamanic healing circle, and the shaman saw the specter of her ex-husband standing over her. She hadn’t healed from the divorce and couldn’t meet anyone new. The men she met spiritually intuited the energy of her former spouse which telegraphed she wasn’t available.

Where is our country stumbling? Racial equality, valuing diversity, women’s rights, the dignity of LGBTQ persons, addressing climate change, animal cruelty and extinction, and availability of affordable housing and healthcare are problems we’ve wrestled with for generations (centuries, in some cases). Until we solve them, achieving unity of purpose and upholding common values, we can’t move forward.

It’s no coincidence the same issues are in the headlines from one election cycle to another – gun violence, climate destruction, environmental pollution, corporate greed, political corruption, hate crimes. Politicians and voters have to step up with honesty, compassion, and courage once and for all. Until our laws reflect enlightenment thinking, our spiritual awakening as a nation will be stalled and our place in the world devalued.

Happy, Happy seems a trite answer to deeply painful problems. “Don’t worry, just be happy.” But why do we want solutions to be so hard? Is it because we feel a little foolish when the truth is simple?

Until we are grateful for what we have, we will never be able to attract lasting, joyful, ethical abundance. The Law of Attraction is clear: Lack mentality attracts more lack; worry draws more things to worry about. Gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for, fosters deep joy and love of life, and raises us to the vibration of all the good outcomes we desire.

Self-talk quickly becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s one way we manifest naturally. An inner soundtrack of “I’m a victim, my life isn’t fair, people are dishonest, I can’t trust anyone, I make bad financial decisions” has a very low vibration. We seek to realize our statements and energetic laws reinforce them.

Happy, Happy is a signal to change our dialogues. “I’m responsible and maturely accept the lessons offered. I learn and move on to a higher reality. I’m wiser, more savvy, and make good decisions based on my experience. I’m ready to joyfully receive blessings from sources known and unknown. I’m grateful for the good things on their way to me now. I find happiness in every day.”

How can we promote happiness tying up those loose ends? Paying off debt frees up funds for retirement savings, a longed-for vacation, or investment in your small business. Learning to see our mundane daily actions as steps along a brighter path helps us move forward peacefully.

Happily tying up loose ends and finishing our unwritten symphonies often requires us to compassionately and intelligently say “No” to more projects. Serving your own needs should be a priority at this time. We need to clear the decks before we taken on any more responsibilities.

Our country needs to decide what candidates and policies are going to address the “pursuit of happiness” the Declaration of Independence asserts is our right. America is not one color, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, religion, et cetera. Opportunities for happiness should encompass the most diverse group possible; the beneficiaries of happiness should look like America.

Happiness covers basics of human dignity, allow for personal growth, spiritual development, and opportunities for service. In our microcosmic and macrocosmic experience, until we get it right, the challenge returns. Climate destruction is an existential threat to all of us; perhaps around this dramatic threat we can unite as one and begin national and global healing.

Let’s finish writing our epics, painting masterpieces, reinventing ourselves, choosing wisdom over resentment, and paying the bills! Then we need to allow ourselves to be happy. We should celebrate our achievements big and small. Joy and appreciation are wings lifting our lives higher.

Choose ascension. Cut loose the baggage weighing you down. Dare to thrive no matter what curve balls or spitballs are lobbed in your direction. We can succeed and be joyful now, in the most turbulent times.



Elizabeth S. Eiler is a Reiki Master, spiritual teacher, and ordained minister. She has a doctorate in metaphysical sciences and owns Seven Stars Healing Arts, LLC. She's written three spiritual books about women and the Divine Feminine, animals, and the nature kingdom.