Uplift Your Spirit

The last few months have been tough for people around the world. So many have lost loved ones and have not been able to properly say goodbye. So many have been living in some level of fear and trying to protect themselves while battling others that could care less. Coronavirus aka COVID19 has taken a mental toll on the world. 

In America, it is not only affecting millions of people but also exposing our vulnerabilities. That's what this virus does. It finds the vulnerabilities in the body but also finds vulnerable points in society. Reports have been circulating about how it has been disproportionately affecting Black people in the US. There are a whole host of reasons why this is happening. Overall, it is exposing the lack of balance in how we get treated in a place where we are still working through subtle systematic oppression in education, justice system, and the healthcare system just to name a few. 

If that is not enough, let us add the recent acts of blatant prejudice against people of color from Central Park Karen (Amy Cooper a discriminating Democrat- note that racism does not care about party affiliations) falsy calling the police on a bird watcher to Ahmaud Arbery's mob-like killing to Derek Chauvin the racist who participated in the murder of George Floyd. What an assault on our mental stability that we have had to endure in such a short time span. 

A basic need for a full life is a sense of safety and yet we live with an underlying fear of those that have sworn to protect us. With all that being said, my nerves have been simmering over the past few months. Now they are on the verge of being fried. A few weeks ago, I decreased my social media usage for about a month. It helped me tremendously. When I came back, I tried to stay in the light. It did not last long.

Today with all this racist activity mounted on top of COVID19, I had to dive into my bag of tricks again. I was feeling stressed and upset and all in my feelings. My spirit was tattered. Understand this, life goes on. Time will not wait for me to get my mental act together. My job which I am so happy to have will not keep paying me to wallow and not address their work. We have to manage it all. We have to manage the stress. We have to keep moving. 

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. - Albert Einstein

I needed to get it together. So once the rain stopped because it had been raining for four days straight here in South Florida, I went out to be in nature. I put on my inspiration music and took a mindfulness walk in which I paid attention to the colors of nature, looked up at the vastness of the sky, paid attention to the birds soaring in the sky. I not only looked at life but I drank it in. I put my bare feet on the ground. I breathed in the air. I breathed in life. I listened to music that soothed my soul. I meditated on how wonderful it was to simply be and I was grateful for the place I stood in, at that moment. 

I also took some time to be attentive to my spirit. I spent some time learning and growing and tending to it. Poorly managed stress feeds on continued imbalance. Give some attention to yourself. 

Stress management tip: Get out and appreciate nature, allowing yourself to be in it and marvel at its greatness.