Acceptance Steadies the Ground
Change is a perpetual part of the cycle of life.
We are alive. Spontaneously, without conscious thought, we are driven by desires, dreams, wishes, attachments, addictions, expectations, hopes and fears. All of this allows us to experience life in a kaleidoscope of deep and sometimes wondrous change. Yet change, for those of us who crave control, can feel terrifying.
Lately that feeling has been everywhere. Turn on the news for five minutes and there is plenty to spin the mind into a dozen worst case scenarios. We were not built to carry the weight of every headline on the planet, and yet many of us try to anyway. There is a real, collective hum in the air right now. A tightness. A buzzing that tells us something feels off, even when we cannot always name what.
This storm has a name. Stress. For some it arrives with anxiety close behind. Left unchecked, it can whip itself into a frenzied panic. So what do we do with it? Feed it. Fight it. Run from it. Freeze in it. Or, my personal favorite, deny it exists at all.
Here is a different way in. Breathe into it. Give it a name.
I am feeling overwhelmed. Breathe in. Breathe out. I have no idea what to do in this moment. Breathe in. Breathe out. The news has me so stressed out. Breathe in. Breathe out. I have so much to do. Breathe in. Breathe out. I am afraid I will be single forever. Breathe in. Breathe out. I have to talk to my kid. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Create your own statement for what you are feeling right now, and breathe into it. I promise it will not kill you. It will free you.
I have come to see acceptance as a neutralizing agent. In chemistry, a neutralizing agent does not destroy what it touches. It simply stops the reaction. Think about what an acid does left unchecked. It corrodes, slowly, quietly, for years. Rage with nowhere to go works the same way. So does shame we carry in silence. Acceptance is what stops that corrosion. It does not erase what happened, and it does not ask you to make peace with something before you are ready. It simply stops the reaction, so something new becomes possible. You cannot build on ground that is still shaking. Acceptance steadies the ground.
This is your time to step into your own world, not the one your stressed out brain keeps constructing for you. You are not alone in the doubt and the fear. It is happening on a global scale. We are all feeling it. Rise above the fog and breathe in some clarity.
A few more stress hacks, while we are at it.
Meditate. Get back into your flow. Taking time to get quiet is not indulgent, it is a way to realign with your true essence.
Follow through. We plan, we visualize, we talk about it endlessly. A bit more effort on the follow through yields a far greater outcome.
Move your body. Squats, pushups, jumping jacks, a brisk walk. Anything to change the chemicals running through you.
And allow for support. I am here for you.
I would love for you to join me this month, twice, for two different ways of doing exactly that.
First, on October 7th, I am partnering with Maison 10 for a special evening exploring the shadow work of the season, the parts of ourselves we tend to avoid.
Maison 10
4 W. 29th St, New York, NY
Wednesday, October 7th
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST
$44, due before the evening begins
Register here
Then on October 12th, our monthly Embracing the Future You gathering returns. Cards will be drawn, meditation will open the space, and something, as it always does, will begin to make sense in ways none of us could have planned.
Monday, October 12th
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST on Zoom
$33, due before we begin
Have fun moving through life. Don't give up. Be the change.
Know that you are loved.
LOVE your way,
Create a beautiful day,
T