Making Peace With Current Reality:
Reality as we have known it has changed in many ways for each of us. Some aspects of this new reality are merely uncomfortable, unpleasant, or inconvenient. Some households are experiencing uncertainty, due to loss of income. Still others are lonely, because they are isolated from the company of family and friends. Believe me when I say, I do not discount any of these feelings. I know, however, that what we think about and focus on expands and takes up more space in our lives. Focusing on fear, debt, unhealthy weight, lack of interpersonal relationships, inability to attend our places of worship, or any other changes to reality as we knew it, causes all we do not want to expand and consume our thoughts and feelings. So, how do we make peace with current reality, and allow our minds to focus on at least one positive aspect of life right now, opening the door to creating the lives we hope for?
I’ve found that a good place to start is to acknowledge my feelings. They are real and are a human response. It isn’t healthy, however, to get mired in them if they are negative. Marinating in those feelings that make us sad, angry, or hurt allows them to start lying to us. They will tell us our life situations are worse than they are, that there are no solutions, and leave us feeling hopeless. Creating a conscious habit of acknowledging a negative feeling, releasing it, and switching my thoughts toward solutions and actions I can take, leading me in the direction of a hopeful outcome, helps me see my current reality in a different light.
Another action I find helpful in creating peace and hope, is reaching out to others whose current reality may be more perilous than my own. A text, an email, a phone call, or a note, simply saying I am thinking of you, praying for you, I care about you, may be what helps them switch their thoughts toward a more hopeful future. It is, after all, our present thoughts that are creating our future reality.
I cannot close this post without sharing how important mindful living is in helping create peace with our reality and hope for our future. This is a topic I will discuss in greater detail in a future post, but here it is in capsule form. I know how powerful my attitude is, and I do an “attitude check” several times a day. When I do, I cannot help finding something or someone for whom I am grateful. Gratitude often leads me to prayerfulness and meditation on all that is good and right in my life, which leaves me feeling peaceful and hopeful. This is mindful living and helps me find peace with my current reality. Yes, it takes practice, and this is a great time to begin.
Blessings,
Coach M