How many times and in how many ways can it be said? A crisis, a crash, a melt-down, hitting bottom and sinking beyond that into a crater-like abyss, bankruptcy, foreclosure, be afraid, be afraid, be very afraid. The Sky is Falling! Or is it? Say it a couple of times - The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling! Did you feel it? The humming ripple of fear? Like electricity running rampantly through our circuitry, we are drawn to the thrill of the drama that spins and swirls up from such shock inducing statements. The sensation it stirs is compelling and hard to resist. It challenges our survival, wakes us up. Not unlike anything else equally captivating, it attracts and holds our attention. Dare we say, it's entertaining. Why else would it take root? And once it does, it takes on a life of it's own. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as we feed it our very energy. And when our energy circuits are tied up with all the doom and gloom and freaking out, there is very little energy left for seeing any situation for what it really is. There is so much to work with. It's a problem however that needs to be worked from a new position. What was; isn't anymore. We need to accept that, grieve it if necessary and then stand up and embrace doing things differently. Things may not turn out the way we expected, but that doesn't mean things won't turn out. The ceiling may have collapsed but the sky is still there. If you are still breathing and above ground, you are still in the game. We all have the choice to worry ourselves to death. That's one way to go. Another is to stay calm. Calm and steady, everything slows down to a managable pace where you can see and assess your options, adapt and move forward consciously, rather than simply move away reactively. It's the difference between wisdom and unbridled hysteria - the Dalai Lama versus Chicken Little. If the sky is really falling, can you stop it? Probably not. If the sky is really falling, are your only solutions tissues and whiskey? Probably not. Whether or not the sky is really falling, one thing is for sure, it's very hard to fix anything when curled up in the fetal position. So enough already with the doom and gloom, fear and fuming. Life is not always feast or famine, up or down, this or that. This is not a two dimensional world, where everything is either-or. There is always, always a third option - actually there are always infinite options. The Sky is Falling needn't be the only show playing in town.