Advice for Difficult Situations

"Good advice is rarer than rubies." 

Salman Rushdie, East, West

First of all, I don't think I'm that great at handling difficult situations. But I know I'm getting better as I get older. This is a good sign. The fact that I'm getting better also informs my advice on dealing with difficult situations.

Difficult situations can be anything--challenges with work colleagues, the death of a student, troublesome neighbors. I would argue that we only get better at dealing with difficult situations by actually having to experience difficult situations. This is what I imagine anyway. Maybe there is some training that exists somewhere that I don't know about that would have better prepared me for all the difficult situations I've faced.

I think one of the most difficult situations I faced was when a student committed suicide. The days and weeks after in that classroom seemed pointless. And, it was hard to deal with my own grief while trying to be wise for my students. But nothing could have prepared me for how to deal with that situation except its happening.

This doesn't leave much room for advice. It reminds me of the time I went camping with a friend who

had been praying for more faith. And then on that camping trip we were plagued with some wild animals in our camp all night. I panicked, and so did she, but she gained more faith, or at least she better have.

My only advice, really, is to know that difficult situations will come and to be present. Instead of letting it weight you down, try and float on it. Imagine a sea where you're floating on your back. You're there, but you're not drowning.