Meet the Moment With Something Better
This morning while lying in bed, I opened my eyes, thanked God for the blessing of a new day, and was suddenly hit with the weightiness of the country's current anxiety. In that moment I had a choice to make. I could either lean into the weightiness, or I could transition my spirit to meet the moment with something better. Exercising my power to choose, I pulled up the liquid mind channel on Pandora, closed my eyes and entering into a twenty minute meditation.
After the meditation was over I allowed the meditation music to continue as the vibrational force echoing throughout my home while I prepared to ready myself for the day's activities. As I was getting myself together, God said to me, "You're an inspirer. Since you're so concerned about how people are doing. And since you think there needs to be as much of an effort to comfort the public as there is to inform the public, why are you so silent? Why aren't you using your gift and your voice to be the presence of comfort you want to see?"
Completely convicted, I got still. Gathered my thoughts. Grabbed my laptop and accepted God's challenge. As an inspirer I want to first say to you everything is already alright. Moments of hysteria are as common as time. History is riddled with unexpected events that have shaken us to our core. History is also filled with one record after another of how we made it through such events. Here we are again. And just like in the past, we will all be fine.
I then want to encourage you to exercise an abundance of caution in your consumption of information. Being informed is very different than being oversaturated. Our minds are not built to consume 24 hour cycles of disparaging information. Our bodies are not designed to hold days upon days of worrisome news. Research shows that worry and fear create infestations of disease--be it depression, elevated blood pressure, insomnia or something worse. I understand that you want to know what's going on. I do, too. At the same time, you must be mindful of the impact overexposure has on your body.
I then want to encourage you to be very intentional about nurturing your joy and happiness during these challenging times. Find ways to deliberately give your mind and spirit the gift of fun and peace. What do I mean? If you watch thirty minutes of news, meditate for fifteen minutes. If you read a two page article, read three pages of something empowering. When you talk to your friends and loved ones, make sure the conversation is as much about happy things as it is about what's going on in the world right now. If you live alone and being alone is causing you to feel anxious, invite a friend over or call a friend to see if he/she feels like company. Do not suffer in isolation. This is not a time to be prideful or shameful. Reach out. Laugh. It's really good for you.
I've said it and I have heard it said that it would be nice to have better leadership at the national level right about now, however, in the absence of such leadership we must become the leaders we need. We must save ourselves while looking out for one another. Refuse to allow what's being called a national crisis to become a personal crisis for you. Do your due diligence and then breathe. Read a book. Take a walk. Develop your spiritual life. Work on a project you've been putting off. Handwrite a letter to some who'd be surprised to hear from you. Turn on some music and dance. And for crying in mud, find something else on tv to watch other than the news or CNN or MSNBC.
In the spirit of staying sane, as often as you can, remember to meet this defining moment in the history of our country with something better, something sweeter, something inspiring, and something joy-filled. I leave you with the words Dr. Oz shared today on the TODAY show, "Live your life. Do not live your life with fear. Live it with joy and kindness."
With Overflowing Gratitude,
