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At some point in our lives, most us feel broken.  If we lose a job, a loved-one or suffer a debilitating illness, we can begin to believe that this is our new and permanent normal. Oprah.com contributor Mark Nepo offers these four tips that will help you turn loss into strength.

• Accept the weather. Being tossed and turned by circumstances is a natural part of life.  
• Lean into the tender places.  In times of distress, don’t put your energy into keeping up needless boundaries. Allow life and other’s support to play out in ways that reveal your true resilience.  
• Ask yourself, “What part am I playing in the whole of life?”  We are part of a larger living organism.  Use this time to understand your relationship to that larger whole.  
• Look beyond the broken.  In difficult times, resist seeing all things as broken.  Remember that all of life is not where you are right now. If you feel lost, recognize that you are merely floating down the stream of life, which is on a path to the next place. 

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