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Staying Grounded in Turbulent Times
Economic, political, environmental, or personal: when times get tough, whatever the reason, it can be hard to stay grounded, to keep your inner listening tuned to that voice of what’s really true for you. Instead, anxiety, nervousness, and panic sets in as you start wondering what to do and hearing all the external voices of gloom and “what if...?”
We certainly live in interesting times. Environmental, economic, and political events are at play that have no precedent in any past history. Younger generations are asking what they and their children will face in the upcoming decades; their parents and grandparents are looking at shrinking retirement funds with disbelief.
In the midst of it all, staying grounded, staying open to possibilities, and keeping yourself from contracting around fear and doubt can be difficult.
It’s early autumn now, and here in northeastern Illinois where my wife Ellen and I live, the trees are starting to change color. We’ve recently cleared some overgrown brush and deadwood out of our back garden, opening up the view around our pond and the stream. She and I were looking out the window the other day, and realized that we could now see a beautiful gingko tree that had been hidden before. Its heart-shaped leaves are turning the amazing bright golden yellow that gingkos take on in the fall. The beauty of the scene brought tears to Ellen’s eyes.
What has this to do with today’s unsettling times?
As we found in opening up the views of our back yard, perspective is everything. While I’ve said over and over again, in these articles and to my clients and workshop participants, that you can’t change how you feel or what you think, you can explore different perspectives. When you allow yourself to be curious about those perspectives and to be surprised by what you see, then your thoughts and feelings may change — and you may find yourself opening to a more expansive, grounded way of being.
Here are three questions to help you explore different perspectives.
Do I have what I need right now?
Right now, in this moment, chances are that you have everything you need. And right now, in this moment, that’s all you need.
For my clients, this understanding creates a sense of spaciousness and calm. Some of them even report taking an involuntary deep, relaxing breath as they shift to this perspective.
What do I appreciate?
When you’re stuck worrying about circumstances you can’t control, bring yourself back by opening to the people, experiences, and things for which you’re grateful.
Write an appreciation of someone close to you and send it to him or her. Write an appreciation of yourself, and put it where you’ll find it unexpectedly in the next week or two. Write an appreciation of what you’ve experienced, the things that matter to you. You’ll feel your perspective becoming brighter and more spacious.
What’s beautiful?
Just as Ellen was surprised by the unexpected beauty of the gingko tree, so you too can allow yourself to be moved by what’s right in front of you. What have you been overlooking? If you shift your point of view in some way, what do you suddenly notice?
Engage all your senses — sight, certainly, but also touch, smell, hearing, taste. What’s around you, right now in the moment, that’s beautiful to you? It could be the scent of the bacon you had for breakfast, the feel of a warm wool sweater just brought out for cooler weather, the sight and sound of birds in an autumn-touched tree.
Give yourself the gift of a real change in perspective by taking a walk or a bike ride, going somewhere you’ve never been or haven’t visited recently. Look around, smell the scents of autumn, give yourself over to your senses and let your mind take a break.
When you allow yourself to really notice what’s right in front of you, you take yourself out of the dark perspective of your contracted thoughts and expand into the amazing reality of the world we live in.
Remember that you don’t know
Just as none of us saw today’s circumstances coming, so none of us know what’s around the corner for tomorrow.
Whether it’s a personal situation that has you riding the rapids right now, or your concerns about the many issues facing our global community, remember that you don’t know what will happen next. Allow yourself to relax into not-knowing, and you’ll find that action arises from that deeper, spacious sense of what’s really true for you.
“I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may — light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.” John Constable, 1776-1837, English romantic painter
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