9-24-21 Home! I’ve been reflecting on being away from home for 3 weeks due to the 1-week voluntary and the 2-week mandatory evacuation. I see that many of my neighbors have been doing some reflecting, too, putting out lots of posts about the value of family and friends and realizing what’s most important to them. Having been in the middle of 3 or 4 community catastrophes, as well as numerous personal ones, I’ve noticed they tend to get folks thinking about these kinds of things, and that’s a good thing (there’s got to be some perks when overwhelming things happen, right?)

What seems most helpful to me is to remember where my safety comes from, indeed, where my everything comes from. I’m hearing that many people are experiencing more stress now that they’re home (maybe because the adrenal rush has slowed somewhat). If they’re like me, maybe they’re having not-very-helpful thoughts like…this happened before, it could happen again or…I don’t feel like I have the energy to keep dealing with this or anything else.

So often, stress takes us forward into the future and uncertainty, or it takes us back to the past and we wind up re-living those past stresses as if they’re happening in the present. Happily, I don’t stay at either place for too long because I’ve learned feeling safe is an inside job that I can only do right now, as is bringing forth hope and staying positive. They’re all aspects of more empowered possibilities for me when I focus on the bigger picture of me, the heart-centered version of me, rather than what might happen, could happen or isn’t happening. My well-being truly is dependent on how I respond to what’s going on around me, no matter what’s going on around me.

Stew (AKA hubby) did a recent podcast on staying present that was really inspiring. He said, “We often think we need to reach a future goal in order to get into a state of consciousness such as love, peace of mind, fulfillment or joy, but the best way to reach the goal is to get into that kind of state of consciousness NOW.” That’s SO important to keep in mind and just as important is for me to remember that past and future imaginings don’t have to keep me from being in the state of consciousness that would best serve me NOW. I love asking myself these 2 inner-directed questions as they help me stay centered on that idea: “What am I focusing on?” and “What do I need right now?”

Invariably, when I’m feeling wobbly (as in feeling like I can’t cope, and I’m overwhelmed, anxious and not thinking clearly) I’m focusing on other things…I have all my attention on the problem. To paraphrase Einstein, you can’t solve a problem at the same level of thinking that created the problem. That’s a good reminder for me to stop, breathe, remember that I am more than enough, focus on my core values and (re)connect with my heart strengths.

That is ALWAYS what I need in the moment. And maybe, in addition, I need some self-empathy. I need to be a little gentler with myself, give myself some slack (AKA compassion) for what I’m dealing with and then a little (or a lot of) encouragement that I’ll get through it, I am the one to remind myself that I am wonderful and I have great tools.

 Ahhhhhh, I feel better – how about you? You have those same strengths and tools within you. You, too, are more than enough to deal with the stresses of the world. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t find those strengths or access it for yourself, I’d love to help you. We all deserve to be living our dreams, sharing ourselves from our extraordinary everyday wholeness, and enjoying life to its fullest. Today is a good day...and I make it so!