Adversity and Benefits

Adversity and Benefits Go Hand in Hand

By Tanis Helliwell

I’ve been on an inner journey since last October. It started when I discovered that a stream was flowing under my house. Kind of cool in theory to have fresh water bubbling up under your living room. I’m sure it’s full of significance…water of life and all that. However, in practicality it has been a pain. It turns out that the previous owners of my home built their house on top of an old well. I suppose it would have worked if the water stayed the same level, but it didn’t. This resulted in my foundation rotting in water.

So the journey to solve the problem began. Have you ever tried to redirect water? Let’s say, it’s not easy. As we see in the Grand Canyon and other ravines it can wear away rock and so my wooden beams and siding were child play for it. Yet this stream has taught and continues to teach me many things—all of which in the end are gifts. I’d like to share some of them with you.

Acknowledge your feelings while searching for solutions

When we find ourselves in an unpleasant experience it is natural to see the negatives first. In my case, a whopping big construction cost topped the list followed by the inconvenience of having people constantly hammering, using buzz saws, and digging out my beautiful old trees and garden.

When overwhelmed by negatives we often go one of three ways. Flee, fight or freeze. Neither fleeing my home, nor doing nothing were options, so I went right into the third option—fight. Consulting a lawyer, I discovered that I had no legal recourse against the building inspector who had approved my property when I bought it. From this I was reminded that sometimes things may not be fair in our lives however moaning about it will not help, we have to take responsible action, whatever the cost, to solve it.

Commit and then recommit to an action

This left me with only one choice, fix it. I agreed to the time and financial investment to fix the problem and six months later both costs had tripled due to unanticipated problems. How often have you had that happen? You commit to one course of action and then the goal posts move and you need to decide if you’ll throw in the towel or recommit. When retreat is not an option, as in my case, I learned that often we must dig deeper financially, and emotionally, to see a project through. There is a Chinese saying that applies, “The secret of success is to fall down seven times, get up eight.”

See the silver lining

Meanwhile a strange thing occurred. I have always needed silence in which to write books and I had been concerned that I would be unable to write with the construction going on. To my surprise I discovered that I was able to write more and better. While my foundation was slowly being fixed on the outside, the books were also taking form. This was the first gift.

Help is on the way

The second gift came unexpectedly when I helped someone. My nephew asked if he could stay with me for a few months in order to get his life refocused and I said, “Yes”. What a godsend he turned out to be. He arrived in the spring in time to do the heavy work of helping to finish the projects and put the garden back in. We enjoyed our evenings together and he received the many answers he was seeking. From this experience I was reminded of how gifts come unexpectedly just when you need them, and even more so, when we give openheartedly.

Receiving back more than I lost

The third gift has only emerged this week. Now that we are nearly finished I see clearly that the new siding and concrete foundation not only has fixed the problem, but also looks much better than the original. Even the garden is more beautiful as I have renewed the old soil, and replaced plants that were past their best.

And the water you might ask? I’ve put in a beautiful pond with water lilies and goldfish. My home is more beautiful than ever and I have received an unexpected gift from a situation I never would have willingly chosen. And in the years ahead if finding water becomes difficult, I now know that in my old well I have enough water for myself and many more.

Tanis Helliwell, a mystic in the modern world, has brought spiritual consciousness into the mainstream for over 30 years. Since childhood, she has seen and heard elementals, angels, and master teachers in higher dimensions. Tanis is the founder of the International Institute for Transformation (IIT), which offers programs to assist individuals to become conscious creators to work with the spiritual laws that govern our world.

Tanis is the author of The High Beings of Hawaii, Summer with the Leprechauns, Pilgrimage with the Leprechauns, Embraced by Love, Manifest Your Soul’s Purpose, Hybrids: So You Think You Are Human and Decoding Your Destiny.

For information on Tanis’ courses, click here.