If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…..
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating…
from Rudyard Kipling, “If”
I don’t know about you but lately I would rather not dwell on or contemplate the world. I don’t even want my mind to go outside the front door, let alone to Washington, D.C. Am I burying my head in the sand? I don’t think so. I watch news. I read news. I discuss news. But some days I want my mind to go to other places, nicer places, happier places. If you are old enough, you have heard the expression “It’s all gone to hell in a hand basket!” My sister says we have done just that. And here we are, crammed into the proverbial hand basket with our fellow humans, struggling for air and hungry for justice. For peace and rescue. Today I’m going to play pretend. I’m going, for one day, to recall better days. I’m going to bring forth memories that make me smile on the inside and the out. I’m going to think of things in my life today that bring me joy. I’m going to be calm and hopeful and I am going to seek God.
When things are falling apart around you and you have little to no control, there are many things you can do to feel better. Think of things that make you happy. When I was in High School, my drama coach told us to take an orange and write down on little pieces of paper things that made us happy then stick them on the orange with pins for a rainy day. I’m not sure what happens to an orange kept around for a long time but perhaps you could try something other than fruit. Years ago my daughter-in-law gave both me and my sister blessing jars. You write down on little pieces of paper things you are thankful for and put them in the jar. Then when you are feeling blue, pull them out one at a time and read them. I believe that’s called regaining your perspective. When you feel like you haven’t anything to be happy about, recall what you are truly grateful for. That should make you alter your thinking and subsequently how you feel.
My husband and I have been watching different series on TV as a means to escape the regularly awful news. We just finished (I’m missing it already!) Downton Abbey. Now I have the arduous task of finding something of equal or only slightly lesser value. How wonderful it is to get wrapped up in a story to the complete and utter oblivion of the world. It’s better than drugs!
Listening to Christian music in my car whenever I am going somewhere is also a mood booster. That music lifts me high above the muck that surrounds me. Of course I have been a music lover all my life, thanks to my Dad. I used to choose particular pieces knowing they would make me cry because I needed to move the inside pain to the outside. Strange, but I did that more often than listening to uplifting music. I think I was more dramatic then.
Getting lost in a good book can be wonderful. It carries you away for hours at a time and lets you forget, even for just a short while, where you are. I would recommend the Bible. It provides escape from the bad and teaches you about the Lord at the same time. Win-win!
Go outside. Go for a walk. Choose to be around animals and focus on them instead of yourself and how lost you feel. Share time with a close friend or loved one. All are healthy ways of lifting you above your troubles.
We, as humans living in the United States, have been dealt not a double whammy but a quadruple one. It started with the pandemic followed by a senseless death that brought protestors and rioters, looting and destruction. A war has now erupted over racism which is tearing our country apart. Last but not least we have a government (local or otherwise) that has run amuck and doesn’t appear to care about any of us. It seems to be every man for himself. You can get involved and try to make a difference. If you do, I both applaud and support you. If you don’t but you are still afraid, please know that there is an end to everything in life. Both the good times and the bad come and go. Nothing is forever except for God. He is ultimately in charge. If you’re going to choose a side, choose his. There is more peace and comfort to be found in him than in anything or anyone else in this world. God bless.
One day at a time has become my mantra, with a focus on my own little world! Love you ♥️