Good Afternoon All. A rainy Saturday in December brings us towards a little more introspection.
It has been part of the human experience, both before and during COVID, to experience ups and downs. Days with events that make us feel happy, perhaps even content, and events that make us frustrated/angry/resentful/worried/anxious. And because of COVID, there are possibly more events in the latter categories.
As we have learned from COVID, and as the Stoics knew all along, the world has a whole ton of things out there that are beyond our control. How others conduct themselves, the weather, the news, and the environment.
However, becoming enveloped in anger, worry, or even hopelessness, must be prevented. Regardless of what's happening externally, we must keep ourselves grounded and controlled internally.
(1) HERE AND NOW. Reference the date, time, and place you're in, right where and when you are. If it helps, say it like Captain Kirk from the original Star Trek dictating into the Captain's Log.
(2) DEEP BREATHING. All the way in, hold for 4-5 seconds, and all the way out. Repeat as many times as needed to slow down and focus.
(3) GRAPHING AND CHARTING. Whatever the issue, is if there is a way to change it for the better, write it down. Maybe make a pro/con list, maybe make it an if/then flow-chart. And if there is nothing to be done, then stop wasting your time. No options, no problems.
(4) VISUALIZATION. Picture scenes in your mind that are relaxing, comforting, or otherwise satisfying. Use this hand-in-hand with the deep breathing, and do it every single time you start thinking about negative crap. Every single time, with the hope being that our annoying cousin, Amy G. Dala, will realize that she'll never get in a complete sentence with us again.
(kind of like we don't get a word in edgewise with distant relatives)
(5) AFFIRMATIONS
(A) Mother Protect Me. On the average, most of the things beyond our control work out, or at the very least, turn out to be less terrible than they could have. Worrying about what awaits us in the next episode is an untenable burden. All the more reason to send those thoughts up to a Higher Power who has the power and discretion to block it.
(B) Father Embolden Me. Most of the things that are actually within our control, by comparison, require a great deal of assembly, maintenance, and responsibility. All the more reason to seek some energy from a Higher Power who can ever-so-gently remind you that you have two hands and two feet, and one brain - use them all wisely, but don't just let them hang aimlessly.
As repetitive as the above might be, please be aware that constant and continuing internal effort is necessary in order to achieve happiness, and possibly success, in a world filled with unfairness, inconvenience, and unpredictability.
I EXIST. I MATTER. I BELONG. I DESERVE.
RESPECT ALL. BEFRIEND FEW. LOVE ONE. HATE NONE.
MOTHER PROTECT US, FATHER EMBOLDEN US.
STOICISM. EMOTIONAL MATURITY. POINT OF EVAPORATION
