You’re cruising along, juggling those apples, knives and eggs with surprising dexterity, quietly wondering about your ability to manage whatever life hands you with some semblance of grace…

And then something happens to shake things up, rock that supposedly unshakable foundation and remind you of the instability of life!  – that there are no guarantees, nothing lasts for ever and the world is in a constant state of flux…..

Can you relate to this?

It can happen to anyone, in any walk of life and at any time – sudden illness, accident or injury, loss of a loved one, natural disaster, violent encounter – any event that immediately alters the course of one’s life for a period of time or permanently.

But for the purpose of this article, I would like to address those of you out there who are healers in one form or another.

How does a healer manage being “down”? What happens when instead of giving to others you are in a position to request and need help from those around you?

This can be a challenge for someone who is used to giving and caring either professionally or casually.  Feelings of inadequacy, betrayal, neglect, failure begin to surface, simmer and sometimes boil over when faced with the need to focus on oneself rather than care for others. What will happen to those who depend on you for comfort, insight and healing?

From my perspective, it is at these times of required introspection that a healer can learn the most and has an opportunity to grow into a greater level of awareness, consciousness and ability as a healer.  Similarly, those who normally rely on that healer have a chance to manage on their own for a while and grow themselves, as a result.

Rather than see it as a failure, look at what this period of time is giving you in terms of opportunity to increase your first-hand knowledge and awareness of the imperfections and frailties of life as a spirit in a physical body – a human being – and, as a result, have even more to offer those who look to you for guidance, comfort, insight and healing when you re-surface.

It is easy to become trapped in other people’s concepts of who you are and what you are capable of that can falsely elevate you to an unsustainable vibration of energy, until you create a situation or event that brings you back to the reality of life and who you truly are – another human being learning about navigating life in the physical world.

Sometimes “healer down” is a necessary and beneficial time of regeneration, renewal, revival and development.

The next time this happens to you, try to ride the wave and look at what you can gain from the experience!