Welcome to SuperStep 1: Your Three Legs of Support. The First of Five SuperSteps in the SoulSanity Everyday Superhero Method!

Stuck by the ‘bat’ virus

Friday, March 13, 2020

I stood there agape, gripping the couch, my lower back forming a solid knot. My belly and heart trying to remind me I am happy from lunch with a colleague.

On the floor, my two dogs lay sleeping ying-yang style in their bed. Well, at least they’ll be happy, I thought.

“Yes, this thing is real. This ‘bat’ virus. We can’t go on our trip. Nowhere is safe,” my wife concludes.

I sit down. That lunch was my last supper. And now, no break with my wife. No lunches with friends. No more walking at the gym.  Four humans and two dogs in a small house. For an undetermined amount of time. Well, I have been praying to God about being a stay-at-home-mom. Nice one, God. 

My brain starts screaming at me. WHAT ABOUT HUGS?

My whole body slumps and slides onto the floor. I have always prided myself on being hug-powered. If I can’t see my friends, how am I going to get hugs? I lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling. My Chiweenie, Olive, climbs on my chest.

“Yes, I love you, too,” I mutter. I look into her chestnut-brown eyes and stroke her white, silky fur. Can I switch to dog hugs? She curls up in a ball on my stomach and closes her eyes like Falkor. Maybe.

The Brain Battle

Negative thoughts bounce around my brain like a superball: It’s not fair. This sucks. Am I in need of another life lesson? Why now?

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I will not get pulled into suffering mode, I tell myself. I move those thoughts to the side, like I boxed up an angry superball. My heart starts to pound like one.

Who do I know will die from this virus? How can I keep my family safe? And sane? How am I going to keep myself sane? How much wine do I need?

I take another deep breath. I see you, catastrophic thinking. Too bad for you that I know something you don’t. I can only do my best with what I got.

I open my eyes and climb on the couch with my new hug-buddy.

A solo banjo track starts playing in my head. “Okay, so we can’t go overseas. But…we can rent a cabin in the backwoods somewhere,” I begin. But my heart isn’t in it. I feel like I won a sucker instead of a Gold Medal.

“And I can go for walks with friends across the street from each other. We can Skype each other. We’ll all get to do Family Nights like we say we’re going to. And I’m gonna need some therapy, won’t I?” I say, while moving my dog’s paws like she’s the one talking.

My heart feels like I won a best-cow-at-the-fair ribbon instead of the Gold. Well, I guess it’s better than a sucker.

POEM: Your Three Legs 

How to move
How to grow
How to walk
How to know

Three legs
you need
to start
your journey. 

One for 
Love,
One for
Truth,

A third  
for Joy,
so you
destroy 

the doubts
of start,
and lean into
the whispers of your big, beautiful, wandering, unlimited, 
Heart. 

The SoulJourner QUESTion

The First SuperStep in the SoulSanity Everyday Superhero Method is about finding support. Specifically, Three Legs of Support. 

• Someone who can encourage you + 
• Someone who can help you see your life from a different perspective + 
• Someone who can open the door for you to a new path to Joy =
• The support you need to move forward into something new in your life. Like surviving a pandemic. In this story, I had walks with friends, my therapist, and my dog as my three legs of support. 

Each weekly message from yours truly has all three legs of support: the encouragement, a story with a little bit of joy, and a reflection so YOU are empowered to see your life from a different angle. 

And…great news! The companion workbook to my upcoming book: SoulSanity: For Cryin Out Loud has an exercise that outlines how you can find the Three Legs of Support! 

Overview of the Everyday Superhero Method
SuperStep 1 of 5: Your Three Legs of Support
SuperStep 2 of 5: Wake Up & Let Go
SuperStep 3 of 5: Let In
SuperStep 4 of 5: Move Forward 
SuperStep 5 of 5: Get Stronger