It's not always easy to maintain a positive frame of mind.
We look around, and the news is all about a potentially deadly and contagious illness; there's the imminence of war between Russia and Ukraine; there's a shake economy and job insecurity; there's the specter of rising inflation and cost of living while wages are often stagnant.
Seems like there is always something to be worried about. And it's very easy to get completely caught up in that "worry spiral" until we suddenly end up in a place where life feels lke a non-stop anxiety attack. Yikes!
How do we bring some semblance of sanity and serenity to all this chaos?
Well, pills aren't really the answer! I say that, because so often people want "instant results" in the form of some kind of magic pill, but that's not likely to happen.
Simplistic as it may sound, there is a great deal of peace and calm to be found in just pausing and seeing... truly observing... the beauty that is all around us.
Nature doesn't care whether some Russian pseudo-dictator wants to rule the world. It doesn't care whether your job sucks... or is amazing.
Even if just for a moment, nature allows us to forget.
Part of the reason I have made it a habit to illustrate my posts almost exclusively with my own nature photos is that it gives me the invitation to "break state" and go outside to just look at my surroundings and find the small spots of beauty all around me.
After all, I need something to illustrate my next blog post, right?
But finding the beauty in nature; in the small things around me... has become part of my "lifestyle," for lack of a better way to describe it.
I was probably not more than 19 or 20 when I first started saying "Nature is my church!" to people who asked about my spirituality and religion... and I was only being a little bit facetious in saying that.
I still use those words... and there is a sort of reverence in saying that.
And in a world that seems like it has gone mad and lost its way, having something simple and peaceful to revere has a great therapeutic value!
All we have to do is be willing to just stop for a while and observe.
Allow the worries to fall away. Look at what is in front of you. That rose will share its beauty for maybe week... and yet, there will be more like it, thousands of years from now... long after we and everyone we know are long dead and forgotten.
Maybe getting those taxes done isn't that crucial, after all!
Thanks for stopping by... and have a great Sunday!
How about YOU? Where do you find peace in this turbulent world? Does your lifestyle include "space" for solitude and quiet? What do you do when the stresses of the world and life encroach on you? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220219 23:28 PST
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