ratings-display.rating-aria-label(2)
The Dust Bowl of Widowhood.... is much more widespread and affects more people than the original dust bowl of the 30's. The dust bowl affecting the plains states is something one could run away from if they had the money to leave. The dust bowl of widowhood is not a place one can run from; it is inside our hearts, souls, and minds and there is no physical place to which one can flee.
Our escape cannot, therefore, be a physical one. Our problem walks around with us every day, sits down to coffee and meals with us, and goes to bed with us every night. And when we waken in the morning, it is already awake and waiting for us. What is the solution?
This Dust Bowl of Widowhood has been going on since human life first began. Since time immemorial, our lives have been hounded by the loss of loved ones, our spouses, children, siblings, parents, and friends. I've lived through them all except the loss of a child; the loss of a spouse has been the worst. That loss will not be forgotten in a day, week, month, or year, but will be felt for the rest of our lives. For comparison, the dust bowl of the 30's lasted about 10 years.
So, if we cannot run away from our 'dust bowl,' how do we leave it behind? Good question. And there are probably as many answers as there are people affected by it. But, we probably all have some potential solutions we are working on.
For myself, crawling out of the dust bowl of widowhood is a work in progress. The first thing I had to do is realize it won't go away by itself. It cannot be medicated away by food or drink, although some of us may want to eat and drink more, others of us want to eat and drink less..., or not at all. One of my problems is loss of appetite, and I know I must eat to survive...so I do.
The next step, for me, was understanding the true nature of the problem I was facing. The main problem I could identify was loneliness. I'm working on that, and that's the reason I'm in this group. I have cast my shyness aside as a useless burden I was carrying around, and now move more freely in meeting people.
Next, I realized that only a part of the solution lived within myself. So now, I am reaching out to other people, trying to find others to whom I can relate and form a bond with. That, also is why I'm on WWD. Where else can I find people who are also trying to climb out of their own personal dust bowl and looking for an answer?
The toughest thing I've found out about myself is that I might have been unwilling to turn loose of the bond with someone who is no longer here. I'm willing to free myself and move forward now, if that opportunity exists and presents itself.
Your method of climbing out of your own "Dust Bowl of Widowhood" could be very different from mine. We are all different, and like any problem, there can be many solutions. But whatever course of action you must take, we who are in that same dust bowl will give you our prayers, time, encouragement, and best wishes.