Focus on Feeling "Unsettled"

What can you do right this moment to feel settled?

What a couple of months it has been!!!  I am not usually one to overly complain or point out the not so great things that happen because most days, I do feel genuinely grateful for all the good things in my life.  However, as most of you might be aware, in Southeastern NC, we experienced our first named storm of the hurricane season just a few short weeks ago. 

We were fortunate, actually (compared to the recent Gulf Coast hurricane), because our power returned within about 12 hours (hallelujah). We did not sustain any significant damage or flooding…but the truckloads of yard debris that we cleaned up for days were exhausting. (I now sort of understand why some folks in hurricane-prone regions have prophylactically cut down all their trees, but that is another matter altogether). 
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Fast forward a few days when I packed up my husband, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 1 horse (no minor undertaking, I assure you, especially the husband part, LOL), to move to the mountains for a vacation just in time to be a mere 8 miles away from the epicenter of a 5.1 earthquake.  The first earthquake of this magnitude to hit NC since 1916!! Yes, and we were here for it.  Again, I am happy to report no significant damage, but our world was certainly rocked, literally, and figuratively.


Anyway, between these natural events occurring and the shit show that is our world right now, the only word that I can come up with to describe how I am feeling is “unsettled.” 


Yes, I said it. Despite  my efforts to stay grounded and roll with the punches, I am feeling very “unsettled.”

According to the dictionary, unsettled is defined as lacking stability, not yet resolved, and not calm or tranquil.  Well, if that is not the understatement of the year, I am not sure what might be at this point.

However, upon reflection of recent events and feeling unsettled, I was reminded of a quote that I read years ago by author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book Flow--


“People who learn to control their inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives.”


So, I decided to look at what I could do in the present moment to help me feel more settled because how we respond to stressors determines the outcome for each of us. 

What do you need to do right now to feel settled?

Ask yourself, what can you do to help control your inner experience (aka response to stress and current events) at this moment to change the quality of your experience.  I offer a few suggestions that I am working hard to employ.

1. Decrease or eliminate news and social media.
2. Express your feelings about it and MOVE ON! Do this through writing, art, meditation, and yoga so that you can own what you are feeling and allow it to flow through you.
3. Engage in more self-care because it is more important now than ever.
4. Increase your consumption of fresh foods and decrease processed foods.
5. Incorporate healing herbal infusions into your daily routine—my favorite right now is Lemon Balm because it grows everywhere and it brings calm to the body and mind.
6. Engage in physically challenging pursuits like building a rock garden or any other project that you have been putting off.
   
   

These are just a few suggestions that have helped me move through some of my unsettled feelings while getting me responding to the messages from my body.  It is more critical now that we monitor our internal landscape and “act” upon those feelings instead of ignoring how we feel until it affects our health.

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