The world seems to be going crazy right now. Europe has a major war on it’s hands, the US is divided in a way it hasn’t been since the civil war, Africa and Asia contain the world’s highest number of crisis zones, South America is suffering from economic woes and both Canada and Australia are burning every year.
On top of that come individual issues such as problems with your partner / spouse, elderly parents requiring help, children in need of role models, terrible bosses, bad jobs, no clear path to improve one’s situation… and then… it rains the one Sunday you planned to head out to the park.
Sometimes, it seems too much – too much to take, too much to handle, too much of a burden to carry.
You are right! It is too much. It not only looks that way, but it is.
That’s why the best thing to do is to be gentle with yourself. Rather than despairing with the load of it all, just take a breather. Literally, take a few minutes out, take a break and just sit there and breath. Let your mind wander. What would you rather do instead? Then go and do that. Do it for a little while and see how your mood changes. Often, a short period of time is sufficient to realise that life is good after all.
The same holds true for being with friends, family, co-workers. They may seem a bit much or too energetic or too harsh at times and they surely are. That’s why it’s important to be gentle with them also. Give them the time and space they need without interrupting them and just let them be and listen. They will turn into more manageable people in good time. After all, everyone wants to be listened to and understood.
As for the world, sometimes, we need to be gentle with it also. If life seems overwhelming, we need to be gentle in how we react. Instead of panicking or getting anxious, we simply may need to take a moment to analyse the situation before reacting.
A well known quote come to mind:
“Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Let’s choose to take advantage of this space, let’s choose to grow and let’s choose to be gentle.