“Sometimes the ground beneath us moves to discover where our true roots are.” ~ Dava Harvey
He was evicted. The word stared at me from the letter in my hand.
It was the summer of 2022, close to the end of the Covid epidemic, when life should have returned to normal – at least that’s what my husband and I hoped.
I read the letter again. My chest tightened.
We always paid the rent on time. We have never violated the terms of our lease.
Our owner has sold the property. After almost ten years, we have to pack up all our belongings and look for a new place to live.
We had sixty days. It felt like a punch in the gut.
Uncertainty ripped through me. How has the housing market changed in the last ten years? Can we find a place and move in sixty days? Can we stay in the same area? How would moving affect our lives?
It felt as if someone else had suddenly cut the roots of our stability.
With the epidemic approaching, my husband and I recently started a new job, after nearly two years of unemployment. However, rents in Southern California have been rising rapidly. I was worried about our already shaky finances. How much would our rent increase?
My husband and I have enjoyed living in the Los Angeles and Orange County area. We loved going to museums, having dinner at our favorite restaurants, or spending a day at Disneyland. Even during the pandemic, we took our dog for walks in local parks or runs on the beach.
How much change can we expect? New places to shop. New neighbors. New commute.
My anxiety increased and I dreaded the daunting task of sifting through listings for apartments and houses. If I could have measured my stress level, it wouldn’t have been on the scale.
We quickly realized that we could not afford to stay in the same area. And we should downsize to a much smaller space.
Even then, it meant a rent increase of nearly thirty percent.
Plus, a sixty-five pound German Shepherd made moving even more difficult, as there were fewer places to house large dogs and many places simply restricted the breed. And we couldn’t go anywhere without him.
The constant worry made me feel stressed and nervous.
In the depths of my mind, a mercilessly ticking clock counted down the days. Every second it echoed louder. There were less than thirty days left, but we still hadn’t found a new place to live.
We both felt the tension of uprooting our lives.
The tension eased and flowed between my husband and I as we continued cleaning out closets and packing boxes. Although we agreed to recycle electronics like our old TV, deciding to start with old clothes and books was a conflict. Donate or pack? Disagreements led to frequent quarrels and fights.
As the days passed, one unsettling question remained: where are we going?
Even though I wasn’t alone, I still felt adrift and disconnected.
I looked for ways to cope with the sudden changes in my life, I tried listening to calming music, meditating, and walking my dog more. But I couldn’t calm my anxiety.
I needed something more stable, and I turned to the ancient wisdom of the elements—earth, water, fire, air, and spirit.
My first elemental point of contact was the earth. With so much uncertainty swirling around us, I needed something solid to hold on to.
The Earth reminds us of our roots—the parts of our lives that remain solid even when everything else changes. I began to focus on what was still stable: the support my husband and I gave each other, the routines we followed, and the simple foundational comfort of stepping outside and feeling the world beneath my feet.
As I braced myself with the still solid material, another element began to flow through me – water. While the earth helped me feel grounded, the water taught me that emotions need space to move.
It was okay to feel sad for what we lost. I shared my feelings with my husband and we discussed how we felt about this sudden change. I acknowledged my feelings and gave myself time and compassion to experience them.
With the earth feeling more balanced and the water more secure, I turned to the next element – fire. In its constant glow, the fire reminded me of the power that still burned within me.
My energy was drained by fear and uncertainty. Looking inward into my own spark of fire, I discovered a quiet inner strength and courage that urged me forward. I focused on small actions – finding lists, making calls, and packing one more box. Each step reminded me that even in uncertain times the holy flame of resilience burned brightly.
Another element presented itself more confidently: air. As the fog of worry and concern began to clear, the air offered space for clarity and inspiration.
Instead of getting caught up in the “what ifs,” I took the time to stop, take a breath, and look at our situation with a calmer mind. By letting go of the burden of being nervous about every decision, I opened the way for clearer thinking. It has allowed me to focus on what really matters and trust that we will find a way forward step by step.
Through the first four elements, I regained my stability, sense of self, inner strength and mental clarity.
The fifth element, spirit, offered me a quiet sense of connection and alignment. Spirit reminded me that I was a part of something bigger than the immediate struggle I faced. Even in my uncertainty, I began to trust that this change, unpleasant as it was, was not without purpose. I couldn’t control every outcome, but I could rely on my strengths, resilience, and a quiet faith that we would get where we needed to be.
Looking back, I found much more than a new place to live. I have found a new way to calm myself down when life seems uncertain.
The elements became silent guides at a time when everything else seemed unstable.
The Earth reminded me to return to what is solid and supportive in my life. The water helped me flow with and through my emotions instead of fighting them. The fire revived the courage to take the next step. The air brought the clarity I needed to make decisions with a calmer mind. And Spirit has helped me trust that even difficult changes can make sense and that we grow in response to change.
Life always brings moments that shake your sense of stability—seasons of loss, unexpected change, or uncertainty. In these moments, you may feel uprooted or unsure of where to turn. But the same elements that exist in nature also exist in you. When you reconnect with them, you can rediscover steadiness, flexibility, resilience, clarity, and a deeper sense of trust in your life.
About Dana Harvey
Dava Harvey is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She is passionate about helping others reconnect with their wholeness and rise to their infinite potential. Through her mindful approach to total health, she combines empowerment, alignment and spiritual healing – creating space for true balance, deeper awareness and meaningful change. More information: infinityhwc.com.
