Is all this talk of a second wave getting you nervous? These are some nerve wracking times for sure but I think we are so much better prepared for whatever may come than we were back in March. I know we are. We now have more information than we had back then. We are used to physical distancing and wearing masks and the need to sanitize our hands.
I am certainly not feeling calm or impartial to the next ‘wave’ but I also believe in the importance of controlling your controllables and letting the rest go.
This was the theme of our mini yoga retreat last week. We made it more yogic of course and used the word Swaha as our mantra during a guided meditation. Swaha is a Sanskrit word often translated as meaning surrender. The idea is to control what you can, and surrender the rest.
The fact is, the want to control everything doesn’t serve anyone but instead will just cause a whole lot of stress. And I don’t have to tell you how bad stress is for you.
So I encourage each of you as you watch the news and you see the numbers climbing to do what you can to stay safe and healthy (in all aspects of the meaning of health) and then surrender the rest. Don’t spend your time worrying about things you can’t control.
In the words of Michael J Fox, “Don’t imagine the worst… If you imagine the worst and it happens, you’ve lived it twice”
An overactive mind can reek havoc on a mindset and so I also encourage you to also take some time to be quiet and just breath. Or meditate, or do yoga, or go for a hike or a walk by the lake….or all of it!
Jay Shetty said this in a podcast I was listening to the other day, “Stillness is for the mind, what exercise is for the body.”
In other words, the body benefits from movement and the mind benefits from stillness.
So, please. Only watch enough news so you can stay informed. Only follow the people that inspire you to do and be better but even then, limit how much time you scroll through other peoples lives. Use the extra time on the things you can control and let the rest go. Your mind will thank you for it.
