Somebody asked me the other day what I am doing to cope with the state of the world. I don’t have a secret or a recipe—and please, run away from whoever offers that. What I do have is my own experience, my own trials and errors. A lot of what I have been experimenting with might seem counterintuitive because my goal was not necessarily to turn painful events into happy ones, but rather to understand that this is what is happening now.
When it comes to the news, I realized that reading every update was not going to change the world—but it was going to exhaust me.
So, I unsubscribed. I unfollowed newsletters, profiles, and TV stations. I became more diligent in not being glued to the news. Nothing good comes from it.
If all you are doing is consuming the news cycle and feeling out of control, I encourage you to stop.
With that freed-up time, I took an inventory of how I was feeling and what resources I had within me to take care of myself. I started moving more every day, going to the beach, spending time on self-care, and being mindful of what I eat and watch. I won’t say the world got better because I stopped paying attention to the news, but I will say that I feel clearer in my head because I reclaimed myself from the incessant cycle of stimulation.
There is enough pain in the world for those of us who care.
The last thing we need is to develop PTSD from the way these events are thrown at us through TV, social media, and texts.
Taking a proactive decision to not be “on” all the time has paid off in the clarity of my thinking. Spending more time taking care of myself rather than being on constant alert has helped me regulate my nervous system.
The more we do the things we know connect us to something greater and beautiful, sooner or later, our nervous system will melt its hiccups and settle into the beauty of the world.
That is my hope.
I started to go back to basics, to the things that bring joy, such as making it a point to get a coffee outside for breakfast on the balcony. Simple. And yet radical.
I realize that sometimes these moments of immense pain are an opportunity to remind ourselves of everything that we value, everything that brings us joy, makes us smile, and helps us feel connected. Because even when the world seems to crumble, we can receive a hug, we can listen to a friend, we can pet our dog, we can say thank you to the ocean, we can take a deep breath, and we can pray for others and for ourselves.
Stay engaged in the world—not overwhelmed by it.
It is my belief that this is one of the most important things we can do.
Adrian, will you come back to Insight Timer? You are missed….