Nothing Is as It Once Was

Maybe you’ve seen it in grocery stores. Or while in traffic. Or onstage at the Academy Awards.

Most of us are emotionally overwhelmed right now. The world is moving on at a faster and faster pace, and we’re living in to a future that we are trying to pretend is normal, though it’s anything but normal.

We have changed, our values and needs. The world has changed, its challenges and demands. Nothing is as it once was.

So if you have found yourself exhausted or overwhelmed or frustrated or things just aren’t going your way, don’t beat yourself up. The world will do that plenty.

Allow yourself to recognize that we have had to keep going, keep living, under very taxing and unusual circumstances. 

The image of a turtle comes to mind. When a turtle is overwhelmed or in danger, it retracts its head and limbs back into its shell. In the moments that I have felt like the world is too much lately, I retreat back into my home, to the quiet and calm I’ve cultivated there through the past two years. 

But we can’t live as agoraphobics. Our ability to manage in this time is dependent on our ability to navigate the extremes.

Noticing the breath helps. Our breath is usually a pretty good reflection of where our mind is at.

When we breathe short and shallow, the thoughts are rushed and disjointed. When we breath deep and slow, the mind slows and there’s more space between the thoughts. There’s more space for softness and forgiveness and rest to seep into the cracks in your bones.

Allow yourself to be overwhelmed, to be frustrated, to feel like the world is too much these days. Return that place of refuge inside of yourself: breathe.