What I Feed Myself…

Dear friends,

Have you ever had a moment where you learned something profound, in a blinding flash of the obvious?  It happened to me recently.  I had a day where I felt really stressed and overwhelmed.  One phone call or webinar after another and too many things on my to-do list.  I was supposed to lead a meditation for a friend the next day and I needed to actually write the meditation.  I almost contacted her to cancel it.

But, I paused and asked myself, “what’s more important?”  I decided to make the time I needed to prepare the meditation.  So, to prepare myself, I did a meditation.  Then I wrote a meditation, trusting myself as I ventured down blind alleys and around twists and turns.  Amazingly, I came out sort of where I wanted to.  (That meditation is here for you in case you want to try it.  It’s called “In Conversation with Your Inner Being.”)

Then, as fate would have it, I got on a training session about ‘Presence Based Coaching’.  The approach of presence-based coaching is about approaching life (and coaching) from a state of centered, grounded presence.  It’s kind of like mindfulness on steroids.  It was impactful, especially after doing a meditation and then creating one, and I left it feeling incredibly present.  Calm.  Centered.  Focused in the here and now. 

Later than night, I had a Zoom call with a friend of a friend to help the person with a resume.  I had the chance to practice presence as this person told me various pieces of her life story that had little to do with the resume we were working on.  But I was able to be fully present with this person and had some incredible moments of human connection. 

The next day, I woke up and settled into my morning meditation.  Amazingly, my mind was calm.  I wasn’t fighting to focus on my breath or keep my attention on the loving kindness I was trying to send out to the world.  As the day progressed, I found myself able to be present in the moment, even the hard ones.  Life flowed with more ease.  I felt gentleness toward myself and others.  I didn’t raise my voice when I called my Senator, like I often do.  Instead of blaming him for what hasn’t gotten done (like a stimulus to help struggling families), I invited him to bring food to my Little Free Pantry.  He hasn’t yet, but that wasn’t the point.  The point was I invited him into service with me instead of being angry at him.  And I could do this because I was feeding myself good stuff and practicing presence. 

—

As I processed this learning, it became clear that what I “feed” myself really matters.  I sent some friends a few suggestions for maintaining one’s well-being during these turbulent times.  I thought I’d share here. 

“I hope you’re coping with the uncertainty.  I’m feeling resilient, in large part because of my regular practices (meditation, qi gong, etc.)  Here are a couple pieces of advice I can share for maintaining your well-being during these turbulent times.  

• Choose what you “feed” yourself.  If we take in information that scares us, we feel more fear.  If we take in information that inspires or calms us, we feel more inspired or calm.  Be intentional about what you’re feeding yourself right now.  
• Whatever you do for stress relief, do more of it right now.  I’ve more than doubled my daily dose of meditation and I definitely feel the difference.  When I’ve done enough meditation, I can call my elected officials and not yell at them.  It’s a better start to my day, and probably the people working the phones.  😊
• Choose to be present in the moment you are in.  When we focus on the sensations our body is experiencing, we are necessarily in the present moment.  Our bodies, unlike our minds, can’t be in the past or the future.  They can only be in the here and now.
• Let your emotions be and sit with them.  Instead of trying to repress fear, notice it. How does it feel in your body?  What is it trying to tell you?  If your emotions are overwhelming for you, particularly anxiety, I encourage you to listen to this podcast from Sounds True and Karla McLaren.  https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/karla-mclarenmaking-friends-with-anxiety-and-all-of-your-emotions/   Paradoxically, I’m noticing that when I let my emotions be, they subside more easily.  
• Choose Your Attitude.  As Viktor Frankl said, ‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.'”

What are you learning these days?  What are your suggestions for maintaining well-being in turbulent times?

With Love, Hope, and Action for a Better World,

Colleen