These recent days have been heavy. With all the political turmoil and worldwide pandemic still being a very real thing, it can all just seem too much at times. Am I right?
When the world is going mad, what can you do? I don’t think there is a black and white answer to that question. We all react to stress and anxiety in different ways. But may I, as someone who very much gets and understands anxiety, offer a few suggestions that I try to bring into my days.Firstly, live quietly. You don’t have to give in to the world’s madness nor do you have to take part in every conversation out there. Secondly, protect your peace. Turn off the news and remove negative voices from your life. Next tend your own garden. Your space is where you are needed, not anywhere else. Don’t go sticking your nose in everyone’s business or spend your precious time dwelling on others’ opinions on things, especially controversial topics. Then, fill your cup. Seek to pour goodness into your own life as much as you can. Whether it be a creative outlet, a book you’re reading, a movie that makes you laugh, a walk in nature, or whatever else, fill your own cup. Then pour that goodness into those around you. Don’t forget to be gentle with yourself and others. Remove that unnecessary guilt or pressure. Some days you will do more than others and that’s okay. Next go outdoors and look around you. This world is alive and beautiful and still full of so much goodness. Remind yourself of that often. Also, make sure you take yourself lightly and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. Be lighthearted and enjoy life’s moments. Make room for whimsy in your ordinary days and make your everyday tasks fun.
Sometimes this seeking and cultivating peace, calm and quiet in a world gone mad looks like blaring your favorite songs in the car with the windows open and taking a drive through the countryside, where everything is peaceful and you feel like you're a million miles away from the crazy. Other times it means going through a stack of books within a week and finding solace among your favorite characters and their stories, sometimes familiar ones and other times, new. It may mean escaping to a faraway land of your imagination through the words of a beloved author or a movie that whisks you away to a place beautiful and magical and full of wonder. Sometimes, it may mean you put your phone away for a day, or two...or ten, and don't look at the news.
It means creating a world just the way you want right where you are. Filling your life with that which you know to be good and lovely and lifegiving. I believe that everyone should have such a world, wherever you are. If it's a tiny room or a grand mansion or a cabin in the woods or a cottage in the countryside, that is your world. Make it as lovely and beautiful as you can. Bring in as much magic and whimsy and wonder as you can. Positivity, goodness and laughter should fill the walls up to overflowing. This is not a naive attempt to ignore what's happening in the world, but quite honestly, you don't need to engage in the world 24/7. And your world should be your safe place, your haven, your cozy corner of the world. Without the noise, news, madness and insanity of the world.
Take a lesson from nature. The earth is always going through her cycles and seasons, no matter how nutty the world is or how insane people seem. Everything in nature remains the same and steady. Summer follows spring and autumn follows summer. Spring always comes after winter and this repeats year after year. In nature, nothing is complicated or rushed. Everything gets accomplished and all is beautiful in its time. Mother Earth is a kind and gentle teacher. When I stand outside and look around me, the trees are standing tall and proud and their leaves are lush and green and full. Summer is here and yet, there are tastes of autumn in the air. No matter how crazy the world gets, it is comforting to know and see that the earth is steady and consistent. Breathe in fresh air, drink up the sunshine, walk in the rain, feel the earth. It is healing, it is lifegiving and it is soul-filling. Nothing else compares.
This whole finding peace, calm and quiet thing doesn't mean that you are ignorant to the world's madness, but it means that you value your wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around you more than the news. You can very well know what is happening in the world without it consuming you. And might I add one thing here...if you have little children around you, please be cautious of what kind of news they are hearing. Children should not be burdened with the world. They should live in as much innocence to the world's craziness and horrors as possible. When they are of proper age, their understanding will come and they will take enough of the world's craziness in. But childhood is not that time. And quite frankly, we "grown-ups" would do well to learn from these children...to step into their wonder of the world and see things as magical as much as possible. I firmly believe that it is those people who are truly living, not the ones with their noses in everyone's business, or their heads constantly being filled with news and headlines and certainly not with their phones practically glued to their fingertips.
There’s no quick fix for anxiety or stress, and when the world is going mad, it makes it harder to find peace in your days. One step at a time, one day at a time, one small choice at a time. Nothing is a waste; it all makes a difference. The small moments of peace will turn into bigger, longer moments and soon, you’ll find the light again. Better days aren’t gone forever and the spring will return again. It always has, it always will.
There’s no quick fix for anxiety or stress, and when the world is going mad, it makes it harder to find peace in your days. One step at a time, one day at a time, one small choice at a time. Nothing is a waste; it all makes a difference. The small moments of peace will turn into bigger, longer moments and soon, you’ll find the light again. Better days aren’t gone forever and the spring will return again. It always has, it always will.
Dear one, I wrote these words first to myself back as the new year was beginning. Sometimes I find that what I once wrote needs to be read again and again. I need to remind myself of these things often, probably daily. And I'm sharing them here today because I have a feeling that I'm not the only one feeling the weight of the world. If you are one of those souls who feels all these things too, please know you are not alone and I get it. One tiny step in the right direction is better than any step in the wrong direction. And the direction we're going towards is peace, calm and quiet...with a hearty dose of beauty, whimsy and wonder along the journey, too.
May your day be a magical one...and may you see the rainbow at the other side of the world's madness.