Do you feel it? Maybe you are feeling it right now. That pulse pounding sense of wiredness directly under your skin, the thing that wakes you from a sound sleep with that feeling of dread. The nameless boogieman under the bed - are my kids ok? Will I find a new job? Will I be able to pay my mortgage this month? Is my family healthy? Yes its the raw undercurrent of stress that is so often the background noise that is running us. What sane person would not be reacting to what's happening in the world right now? All one has to do is turn on the TV for the latest disaster. Shootings, earthquakes, tsunamis and years of war have left all of the world with a big case of post traumatic stress that is beaming into our homes on a daily basis. The human body is only designed to handle so much. It stores up the same chemical signals today that it did when the cave man met the dinosaur. The world itself is perceived as a threat that causes the adrenals to go into full alert, cortisol to flood our bodies and as a result cause us to be on almost constant panic mode. We fight it by working harder, kicking the dog, fighting with our spouse or loved ones and in general missing out on what is right in front of us. Life - here and now passes us by, while we actively run from it. Some of us work out, some just work harder. We try to soothe it with distractions, deaden it with sugar, caffeine and booze. We go into prayer and meditation, We eat or sleep too much or not enough. Our bodies manifest this as pain, headache, digestion problems or illness, We sense that these things are just part of regular life, They aren't. Trauma when lived out daily wears the body out. Jaws clenched become TMJ. Fatique becomes fibromyalgia. Anxiety turns into panic attacks. Evidence suggests that stress is implicated in all inflammation in the body leading to heart disease, stroke and cancer. So now more than ever,, don't we need ways to calm the mind, the body and get back to now? Get massages, take those walks with the kids, play with the dog and instead of working out, get up and dance. Life is more than this rush from things. Our destination is always uncertain. We must lead with grace and calmness by first treating these bodies better.Turn of the TV, step away from the cell phone. Breathe. Just stop and realize how little any of us can change the big picture. But we can, we must be true to our hearts and start living our lives. It is all here, its all now. Are you breathing? Good. Every thing else is a bonus. |
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