Keep on Keeping Calm

Soooo hey there....this was a post I had written and had all cued up, and then all the violence and hatred in Paris happened......I have mixed feelings about Keeping Calm or encouraging anyone else to in response to this sad tragedy. Then I went for a run and thought about it.....maybe the invitation still sticks, after all what good would a wound up, hyped up angry response get us...more angry hyped up reactions of retaliation and violence? Possibly, even probably. No, Im sticking with staying calm, assessing the situation, deeming it UNACCEPTABLE andRESPONDING with light, integrity and valor not REACTING with more darkness.

So...here goes......

I wonder if like me you sometimes feel as if your day is just one big game of dodgeball. You remember the childhood game of trying to make it from point A to point B across the gym floor without being knocked out by the fast red rubber balls whizzing by your head? Now that we’ve made it to adulthood, the objects being thrown at us may not be the same as those in our carefree childhood days, but the game seems to play on. These days there are concepts and demands being thrown from every possible angle. Some of these come from well meaning family, friends and co-workers, some are from society at large but all too often the messages they carry say “BUY this, LOOK like this, you NEED this, GO here,STAY AWAY from there, you’re running out of TIME for this, you better notFORGET that, you will be NOTHING if you don’t have some of this!” Add to that all the expectations others have of you, for you and about you and you can feel you’ve lost the game before you’ve even started the day. It can be exhausting to be pummeled with the expectations of your communities and those around you. Even the voices inside your own head of “ I WOULDA done that, I COULDA said that and I SHOULDA been that, can be similar to banging that dodgeball off your own crown until you flat line and find yourself OUT OF THE GAME. No longer having the energy to play, we find ourselves reduced to the back of the gym (life) with the other tapped out and tagged out players. Once there we tend to REACT to our demise by engaging in mind numbing activities that turn into habits like gorging ourselves at the holiday all you can eat buffets, guzzling alcohol, couch potatoing, internet grazing, television watching, video gaming, online gambling, snapchatting, facebooking, texting, gossiping  OR….

 ( insert your favorite addictive mind numbing activity here).

        BUT WAIT……

there’s gotta be a better way! One where we don’t have to dodge,duck, swerve, hide and tumble to avoid being hit by the fastballs hurling straight at us. We canCHOOSE to simply enter into the eye of the dodgeball storm, and wait out the chaos. We can choose to

   RESPOND

   with clarity and conviction instead of with desperate knee jerk based

    REACTIONS

 Here is an idea….Take a moment every day before you join in the Universal game of dodgeball to center yourself, meditate, find the quiet space inside you, set up your own personal  guidelines of what you will (and won’t) respond to. You don't need to carve out hours to do this...take a moment to organize your ideas before you leap out of bed for the day or eat your breakfast without the tv or computer screen flashing in front of you.  How about trying turning the radio off and gathering your thoughts on your way to work? A slow quiet stroll through the woods is very effective in bringing your attention within, as is sitting quietly while listening to classical music. As always, coming to practice on your mat anywhere and anytime will dramatically reduce stress and tension. Remind yourself you are doing the best you can, you don’t NEED more, remembering that you alreadyGLOW with a beautiful light inside. If you fall down (react) during the day get up, no biggie just keep inside the eye of the storm and refuse to be tagged out.

       Next time that ball comes hurdling toward you stop,turn towards it, face it down, catch it, think about how you want to RESPOND to it (if at all) and then toss it back into the game and keep on keeping calm.

 I’ll Be Right There With You

 PEACE

music suggestion:  

The Eye by, Brandi Carlisle on her album, The Firewatcher's Daughter

(Listen, just cause you can…...)