This is not the end of the story.
Find a way to calm yourself.
Breathe. Create. Express.
Find a way to take inspired action.
Believe. Uplift. And most of all, love.
When upset arises the first step is to regulate your nervous system. Upset can be anger, sadness, or anxiety and it’s simply the nervous system trying to tell you that you don’t feel safe. To return to feeling safe (calm, grounded, empowered, hopeful) connecting with the goodness in life is the most effective and quickest route.
Calm yourself.
To demonstrate the process of calming I’ll share my methods used this morning. I started this morning with creating a goofy and calming playlist that speaks to feelings and needs I’m having today. Do you love music too? Here are a few of the songs that I used to support myself today: It’s The End Of The World As We Know it by REM, Presidential Silver Lining by John Craigie, Let It breathe by Rob Riccardo, Bowl Of Light by Trevor Hall, Stay Alive by José González. Last night when emotions got high I used my tv remote to change my mood. I took a break from the news and watched my favorite episode of Bluey (the Ice Cream episode) to remind me that there is goodness in the world.
To calm yourself, surround yourself with comfort, humor, and goodness – use whatever that might be for you and if you don’t know what that is, experiment!
Take inspired action.
After you’ve regulated (which you may have to repeat often during challenging times) you’ll be in a centered state of mind. From here you can consider, how can you make a difference today. When we believe that every action matters, we can see the connection between us all and we can use our energy to create more goodness in the world. Start with simple things: an uplifting difference in your own life or another’s life. Smile at a neighbor, use google for good and search for a silly joke to share with a friend, write a message to your local politician. Work your way up to bigger actions, this is easiest when you find that your nervous system feels a bit more stable. Bigger actions take more endurance and increased exposure to the challenging topic. Just don’t forget that even when there seems to be a lack of hope in the world, you can bring hope back into your own life. Rest and recover when needed but don’t give up. And don’t stop trying to be a source of love in the world.
Navigating Today 