So much is happening in the world right now it can be hard to feel a sense of firm ground beneath our feet. It is easy to feel we are lurching from one crisis to another in the context of Covid-19 and then we all have our own individual experiences and life events to contend with, whatever these may be.
With so much turbulence and uncertainty in the world it is unsurprising that our levels of worry and anxiety may be elevated, perhaps even without us realising. Many of us will be interacting with the world in a state of heightened alertness in response to the potential danger that exists. This in turn can trigger the part of the brain that senses threat thus mobilising the body into a survival response.
We can experience this in our body, our feelings and our thoughts. Maybe feeling more irritated or angry than normal, maybe noticing more anxiety or a feeling in the pit of the stomach. There may even be feelings of hopelessness and despair that weren’t there before. It is all too easy to become these emotions and identify with them so instead of ‘I recognise I am feeling angry’ becomes ‘I am angry’. Before we know it, we are our emotions and thoughts and are interacting with the world in this way.
I know the word mindfulness gets thrown around a lot these days. But there is a reason why. Noticing these inner experiences provides a helpful space between us and our emotions and thoughts which, in turn, can help to invite more calmness and ease to the body and mind. It offers us a choice about how we would like to interact with the world. I am not necessarily advocating that we all start meditating but, rather, that we each aim towards a more mindful approach that invites us to notice our inner experience. Not in a judgmental way but in a curious, noticing way that can give us room to choose our responses.
I found this short clip useful in demonstrating these ideas and how we can choose to feed our more compassionate, loving and peaceful parts while letting go of those that are unhelpful and destructive. Do take a look if you would like to.
Thank you for reading.