“You just got a one-star review,” read the email from google.  With a delicate combination of horror and confusion, I clicked on the review. The name on the review was a name I did not recognize and all that was written in the comment section was a lonely letter “a”. I quickly clicked on the profile of said reviewer and found a very dubious google account. It had no pictures, no likes, and no posts, but did have over 50,000 views to the profile. Clearly, I was not the only one checking on this account.  My conclusion was it was indeed a false account and a false review. Mystery solved. Normally, I might have left it at that, yet the glaring and significant issue were this was my one and only google review. Therefore, I did what any normal person would do in my shoes.  I panicked.  I began seeking answers at lightning speed. I finally got someone from google on the phone and they indeed agreed this seemed like a false account, and thus a false review. Great, please google goddess,  simply remove it from my site and problem solved. Not so fast. For reasons explained but not at all understood, it could not be removed. She suggested I simply respond to the review highlighting it was indeed false. No problem, but what about the one-star rating? Perplexed, frustrated and spent, I hung up the phone.

It is interesting that when we are most triggered we often forget our tools. When high jacked by adrenaline, the most difficult thing to do is stop, pay attention and go inward rather than react out of habit. (For more on that check out Your Inner Lizard). It was about then I remembered those hours I have spent learning, practicing and teaching exactly this. So, I finally stopped, I became aware and I began to get curious. What first came to me, was the recollection a week prior I set the intention to increase my google presence. To do that, I had planned to ask past and current clients to simply review my business on google.  Then I had promptly forgotten to do it. Now was clearly the time.  It was the perfect moment  to reach out to my clients and ask for honest reviews to help balance the fictitious one. I did just that. What transpired was an overflow of support and love from countless clients who not only left five-star ratings but also left inspiring, profound and truly beautiful words.  My humble gratitude was palpable, and it went beyond just combating the review. It reminded me (again) the worst moments, the times we think all hope is lost, is when we open the space for grace to take over. It reminded me from an ego perspective what is “bad” to the soul is absolutely right. It reminded me that life is not happening to us but for us. We just have to get out of our own way.

This incidence was minuscule compared to some of the “bad” that can happen in life, yet it is in the details we live our lives. The small moments give us practice, so when (because it is a matter of when) we are thrown into the game of big life moments we have the muscle memory to practice radical trust, acceptance, curiosity, and presence.  It’s one of those simple but not always easy truths.

When face-to-face with a “bad” moment remember to make some space and ask yourself, “How is your life, right now, this moment happening for you rather than to you?”. Then, be open to the truth that will arise.

Interestingly, I was checking my google reviews this morning before I wrote this article and the one-star review was gone.