Peace Amid the Storm Part II

Serenity is not freedom from the storm but peace amid the storm.

In my last post, I wrote about ways to help yourself maintain a sense of peace within the storm of current events rippling around the globe.  In this post, I am going to give a few more ideas.  All of these suggestions have one goal in mind:  to let you distance yourself from the negative emotions of others, and instead tend your inner garden of tranquility.  When the world around you is fearful it is especially important to be discerning about where you put energy, focus, and attention. When things are calm and the world is normal, this is a good skill to have.  When things get frazzled, it becomes that much more essential to your mental and emotional health to be selective about what kind of energy you welcome into your life.

Group think, or mob mentality, has always been a living breathing beast for as long as humans have gathered in numbers.  Mobs are unthinking, uncaring, unreasoning entities, and they thrive on the lowest common denominators of fear and anger.  Are the shelves where you live empty of toilet paper?  Thank mob mentality.  Someone decided that toilet paper was a life-and-death necessity and they needed to stock up.  The mob picked up on that, more people panicked and the result is a toilet paper shortage.  Yet the virus doesn’t cause diarrhea.  So what is hoarding toilet paper going to accomplish?  This is what I mean:  mobs don’t think, they react.

Toilet paper is a silly example of how people get carried away.  Routines have been disrupted and world events are unpredictable.  Some people respond by being anxious and fearful.   This is what I mean about separating yourself from someone else’s emotions and mindset.  Others can have whatever emotion they choose — and you get to decide if you want to join in.   You have a choice.  You don’t have to buy into what anyone else thinks or believes about what is going on.   For your mental and emotional health, choose to think differently.  A self-loving focus is to find your spiritual center.  Meditation is a great way to do that.  Spending time outdoors connects you with the earth, and Gaia’s wonderful healing and soothing energy.  If you have some art supplies, spend some time drawing or painting.  Put on some fun music and dance around the house.  Hug your pets.   It’s about putting your focus and energy into activities that bring you joy and make you feel peaceful.   In my last post, I wrote about some ways to bring calm into your life.  Here are a few more.

— watch BBC nature videos.  There are full-length ones on Netflix and short ones (under five minutes) on Youtube.  If you aren’t physically out in nature, this is a wonderful substitute.  Watching the beautiful photography and narration is soothing, emotionally and mentally cleansing and centering.

— do a guided nature meditation.  Check out relaxation meditations on Youtube or try out the Insight Timer app for more meditation ideas.

— get yourself some crayons, plain paper and just play. Circles, squiggles, whatever makes you happy.  Yellow, pink, green, red, blue and purple.  Lose yourself in color and silly shapes.

— go onto Pinterest and look at photos of clouds, sunsets, flowers, trees, and landscapes.

Know that the energy of the universe, the very energy of creation, is love.