You are no stranger to crisis—especially if we define it as a time of great danger, difficulty or doubt when problems must be solved or important decisions must be made; a point at which change must come, for better or for worse.”  

And if you’ve lived this definition, you are in good company…with the likes of singer Amy Grant. 

She doesn’t remember how she fell off her bicycle that day in late July when she was riding with a friend at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park. She was unconscious for about 10 minutes and doesn’t remember her nearly week-long hospital stay, where she was treated for a concussion and a shoulder injury that would eventually require surgery, along with cuts and abrasions. 

Grant said that the friend who was with her on the day of her accident told her that after regaining consciousness, she kept saying three things: “I can’t believe I still have my teeth.” “Something is wrong with my shoulder.” And, finally, “I needed this.”

What?

She says “I started to think,“ What energy do I have left and how would I like to use it differently? It’s been such a gift.”

If you, too, have been  through a “life will never be the same” experience, , this episode just might help you use it to spawn good, because there are actually a number of ways to generate and multiply joy, even in a crisis.

Listen in!

NOTES:

“Amy Grant opens up about Kennedy Center honors, recovery from bad bike accident.” CBS Mornings, December 12, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Aqr6SOqx4

Brother Phap Linh. Generating Joy and Embracing Suffering in Times of Crisis. November 26, 2021. https://plumvillage.app/generating-joy-and-embracing-suffering-in-times-of-crisis/ 

Crisis. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/crisis_1

Yahr, Emily. “Amy Grant conquered Christian music. That was just her first act.” The Washington Post, November 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/11/29/amy-grant-kennedy-center-honors/