TRUST IN TIMES OF CHANGE
This year has been one of ‘ unprecedented ‘ change and upheavals. There has not been one person or family whose lives have not been affected and all of our support mechanisms and systems have been sorely tested.
The things we did before Covid 19 to help relax and support us are no longer there. We can’t depend on seeing our family and friends or going out or playing sports. Everything can feel out of control, so, how do we cope? How can we feel safe in an unstable and possibly unsafe world ? How can we make ourselves feel secure and in control?
When muscles in the body are unstable or in pain the body automatically compensates by tightening up. We do the same mentally and emotional too. The more out of control the world feels, the more we want to assert our control; over work, over our family and over all situations.If only we have the right plan, if only everyone does what we say, exactly. If only the future looks exactly as we have planed and imagine it all will be well. But this is impossible, we can’t plan for every outcome, people are unpredictable and the rules from the Government , and from the work place change rapidly.
So what can help? In Tradition Chinese Medicine control means emotional equilibrium. It means that we deal with things as they arise , in the best way we can at the time, and then we move on. It is the opposite of keeping plans in our head for every situation , it is to deal with what is in front of us and trust that that is the best outcome at this time. If we are always in our head , planning and whizzing from idea to idea then we can’t deal with what is in front of us. If we always have a plan and real life doesn’t match up then we feel we have failed or not good enough. But if we let go of these expectations then we can feel liberated , liberated to trust ourselves that we did the best we could in a tough situation, liberated to live in the moment, where we can make real decisions, based on the facts at the time and know we did the best we could with the knowledge we had at the time and liberated to not always having to have the right answer, to make mistakes and most importantly it liberates those around us to be able to make mistakes and not have the right answer. So everyone can relax, no one person has to have all the answers all the time and then perhaps there really will be a feeling that we are all in this together.
So if we trust ourselves that we have made good decisions based on not just our head but our emotions and our gut instinct then we can’t be wrong , we did OUR absolute best and we can’t do any better. And then we can relax, and enjoy what is good in our lives cos there is nothing else that matters more in this ‘unprecedented’ times then family, friends and a clear head to enjoy them!