“Calmness is the cradle of power.”
– Josiah Gilbert Holland
PEACE AS A PATHWAY
“Peace is not something you wish for. It is something you make, something you are, something you do, and something you give away.”
– Robert Fulghum
In life there are so many things coming at us that require our time, energy, attention and focus. We have our primary relationships with a spouse, children, their spouses if you have adult children. Then if you are care giving there is the time and effort mental, emotional, physical and often financial of taking care of an aging parent or grandparent. This comes with a new and different set of challenges, gifts and navigational things to make your way through. Add extended family, work, clients, friends, community events, religious gatherings, politics to think about and spend energy on and it’s no wonder we get so overloaded.
Stress is a real issue when it continues day after day unmanaged. It can lead to mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and even personality disorders. Chronic stress can lead people into unhealthy habits of overindulging in food, alcohol or other substance best left to moderation. I typed stress into google as you know there are always those drop downs with helpful tips. One of them had the title, “How to Relieve Stress Quickly” this is what it said.
- Get active. Almost any form of physical activity can act as a stress reliever. (I love a walk)
- Eat a healthy diet (Dark chocolate & bacon are healthy right?)
- Avoid Unhealthy habits (Well really…. So, overindulgence is out I guess…)
- Meditate (I have the Deepak Chopra app and do one of the guided ones per day… when I take an Epsom salt bath, I do a 29-minute Chakra singing bowls one that is on You Tube, it’s amazing!)
- Laugh more! (YES, do this! My husband follows cat videos and is always laughing.)
- Connect with others (Together is my favorite place to be!)
- Assert yourself (Love this, might make you introvert a little twitchy. You can tell someone off in your mind or in a letter. I wrote a couple letters the last full moon and burnt them in a jar in my back yard! It is cleansing and stress relieving!)
- Try yoga. (Good tip, I love how deep I breath when I do yoga, that might be the most relaxing part as I have fallen on my head trying some of the poses. That sparked some deep laughter in me, not so much in others who felt way more serious about the yoga poses than I did apparently!)
To find or create a pathway to peace in your life you want to find little things you can do every day to help keep you in balance. We often think we need some large measures; a long retreat or vacation get away to reset us. If we take ten to fifteen minutes everyday to devote to peace in our minds and bodies, we will feel a huge shift from the inside out.
Make time to be still in your life. We have so much going on around us. We have so much technology connecting us to everything and everyone. TURN IT ALL OFF. Take a few deep breaths. Find that place inside you where stillness exists. Breathe a few more times into that scared space where you are centered and balanced at all times in all places no matter the chaos that surrounds you. Do this in the early morning light with your feet on the earth if you can, it is so powerful to connect to the earth through your feet. Breathe in the energy of the planet. Let the strength on the sun calm you and warm you. If you can’t be outside to do this, you can create this in your mind. Visualize yourself at the beach, in the mountains, beside your favorite lake or stream. Be where you feel alive and at home. Breathe peace into your mind and heart from this place.
I promise if you make time for this daily you will walk a new pathway with renewed calmness. You can face each day, any new challenge with the question in your heart, “what would love do or what would peace do?” then act from that place. Who knows, it may look and feel a lot different than it used too!
Self-Care Tip:
Quiet Your Mind!
Make time each day for purposeful quieting of the mind. Take 5-10 minutes. Turn off the screen, the radio in the car, the TV. Sit with your feet touching the earth while taking slow deep breaths. Focus on the breath coming into and then leaving your body. Feel the stillness start to wrap around you.
If your mind does better with help below is a link for a guided meditation to help quiet your mind. A little EVERY DAY goes a long way in your consistent peacefulness practice!
Quiet The Mind – 10-minute guided meditation
All my best,
Genna
RESOURCES
988 – National Mental Health Hotline – Talk or Text 24/7
National Alliance on Mental Illness – NAMI www.mani.org/Home
Crisis Hotlines: Common Hotline Phone Numbers | Eluna Network
Mental Health App’s
Talkspace – Best Overall Therapy App
Calm – Best Mindfulness App
My3 – Three People / Three Distractions / Safety Plan App
Chopra App – Great mindfulness and free meditations
Pride Counseling – Best Queer Mental Health App
Youper – Best Self-Guided Therapy App
Headspace – Best Anxiety App
The Next Adventure 