Finding A Restful Place, When the World is Collapsing
As of late, it feels like things have been "difficult" in the world.
A place to find a moment of peace
I'm not talking about myself, specifically, but the greater world as well. I keep coming across posts on Steemit where people are going through a rough time... meanwhile, the people who work around me are also having difficulties keeping an even keel.
Today, I was listening to the woman who has the candle and incense store next to our gallery... it seemed like every single person she talked to was as much there for therapy, as to buy something. It was out-of-the-ordinary; above normal; noticeable.
Without getting too "woo-woo" here, sometimes it really does seem like were all connected in some way... some strange way that ties our ebbs and our flows together.
Solace and Peace
I suppose we all have our coping mechanisms, when things start to feel overwhelming.
A solitary seagull, preening
Some people work out, some people go on a cleaning frenzy, some people curl up and go to sleep, yet others drink to forget...
My solace and peace have always come from the beach. Failing that, from nature.
Somehow, I need to get away from other humans, and from anything that is a "human construct."
Fortunately, we are blessed to live only a couple of minutes' walk from the shores of Discovery Bay... a long narrow fjord that stretches about 8 miles (13km) into the Olympic Peninsula, off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which in turn attaches to the Pacific Ocean.
There's something about the freshness of the air off the water, the sound of waves and the slight seaweedy smell that makes me feel better; more whole.
Walking Meditation
Today was a good day for a walking meditation... peaceful, sunny, no wind.
And then the sun sets, behind the mountains
Is a walking meditation really any different from "just walking?"
Well, to me it is... I suppose it's ultimately about intent. When I do these, I tend to "go within" and focus on counting off my steps by fours and actually minding and feeling my breathing.
There's a deliberateness there that's different from simply being out for a sightseeing or beach combing trip.
After about a 20 minute walk, I sat down on a driftwood log and thought about my day, and life, and the people in it. Something seems a little "off center" with the world... it's like almost everybody I know is working about as hard as usual, doing much the same thing-- but their results, outcomes or rewards are slowly shrinking.
Which leaves either the choice of "doing more" in order to stay in place, or doing the same and before and accepting that your outcome will be less. Not sure what the answer is.
I stayed out there for about 45 minutes, before making my way home again.
How about YOU? Do you have a preferred way to deal with feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Does nature help you calm down and find perspective? Does it seem to you like the world is in a "rough state" at the moment? Do you have anything in particular pressing in your life? Have you ever tried a walking meditation? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 170927 21:28 PDT
"Though all feel it coming
Few can let go.
Reap, now, reap
And keep
What you did sew"
@onceuponatime, from a much earlier post
Let's just hope it doesn't go as far as Zimbabwean dollars....
At least Zimbabwean dollars you could use for ass wipe or fire starter. What will people do with electronic digits representing debt in unimaginable amounts?
Brings to mind the slightly surreal parts of the very early days in the IT industry... before waste at computer OEMs became a "security" issue. When I worked at Dell, we'd have what we called "night crawlers" come out and dig through the giant dumpsters of trashed components and partial machines behind one of the buildings... digging for bits and pieces with trace amounts of gold and other salvage... it seemed like something out of Blade Runner.
Hoe many parts you need to have nowadays to fins some gold... a lot for 1 gram I guess..
Doesn't happen anymore-- all the waste goes through industrial shredders and is sent to commercial extraction plants in sealed containers.
There will always someone who believes in growth. So that could be sold as well :-)
Gaming and way too much of it at that. It’s the one place my brain most of the time is not having to think of much. I prefer in games gathering and collecting bits that most people hate! I just find it peaceful. Oftentimes I am left alone even. Slight addiction to making money in games which is funny because I just don’t care much about money in the real world.
I get that... and I think it's one of the reasons I kept playing Farmville long after most people packed up their stuff and went elsewhere. Something mindless about "virtual farming."
“A lot of people think things are getting worse, partly because that’s actually an evolutionary adaptation,” Kurzweil said. “It’s very important for your survival to be sensitive to bad news. … I think if you look at history, though, we’re being helped [by new technology] more than we’re being hurt.”
Ray Kurweil
Indubitably true.
That said, it seems to me positive and negative comes and goes in cycles.
Maybe it's just a type of "sheep effect."
I don't think that the 'world is collapsing' one little bit.
I think that we live in the best of times. On average more people are doing better than anyone ever has in the history of mankind, and not jut a little bit.
A poor person in the USA today is richer than a king two centuries ago.
I blame journalists and the media for spreading lies.
I think the world is shifting; transitioning.
In a global sense, fewer people live in "absolute poverty" every day.
Fatal diseases are being contained, more and more.
Technology does away with "grunt" jobs, more and more.
The populations will shift-- Europe and North America will shrink; much of Asia and South America will gradually stabilize; Africa will boom for a while.
I think the meaning of "a good life" will change... people will become more human BEings, and less human HAVEings or human DOings.
I watch the trail of Millennials drift through our town... they work from a laptop; their lives are what they carry in their backpacks.
They don't care about "nations" or "borders." And they seem pretty happy.
yup.
and the most effective birth control is a high standard of living.
you know i think the millennials are just a fringe cycle like the hippies in the 60's. most things seem to go around in a 50 year cycle and everyone forgets and thinks its all new again
People have be talking up the negatives for as long as i can remember which is about 50 years. but the world is still the same. only thing different is that we have internet and social media. but peoples lives have not really changed for better or worst.
I definitely know what you mean about everything seeming off. I feel as though we are gearing up for something big and ugly and it is troubling our collective consciousness. I have a shop, and know exactly about the chatting thing. Yoga helps me, and wine too!!!
Hi @onetree, nice to "see" you again! I think some of the unrest comes from tension between the school of thought of "let's just leave things as they are, they have always sorted themselves out" and those who are waking up and realizing that we need to DO something before it's collectively too late. And the other-- slightly subtler-- thing is a realization that there's no "it" or "them" that will come along and offer a magic solution to the world's problems... WE are the "it" and "them;" WE are the only ones who can snap things out of a slumbering apathy.
How about YOU? Do you have a preferred way to deal with feeling stressed and overwhelmed?
Indeed it is through walking in nature getting fresh air, watching some good anime and or taking a nice nap along with a delicious meal the small things can help. For others its hanging with friends or making love with their significant other or asking for help volunteering etc. We all face stress it is how we deal with adversity that allows us to grow.
Indeed... I think a lot of times what we reach for is something "simple," as a counterpoint to what feels like a world that has become "too complicated."
Quite so life is like that we struggle with the simple things and aim for things beyond that sometimes we should just look around and enjoy our reality. Not that it is a bad thing to have ambitions and goals but taking a break to smell the roses and put one foot in front of the other can be important too or reminiscing on the past and learning from that to pave the future.
The more i go forward, the more I recognize the value of living without a goal... aside from simply making the most of each moment that comes along.
Keeping track of the big picture is good,keeping track of the carrot in life and all is part of the things to look forward to as we keep living, but sometimes life is not that easy and it is also important to sacrifice your short term to enjoy yourself and have time for the important things in the future instead of living day by day and bill to bill. It's' not easy to really enjoy success at some points in life.
That does not mean though that one should not take time to smell the roses
Well one way to think of the challenge part is a Rocket or Airplane the amount of energy it takes to get business going is so much more for a little reward at the beginning.
95% of your fuel for example is spent on that runway but not going fast enough to gain traction.
Once up in the air the fuel is hardly used at all but going six hundred miles an hour
You need the airplane at 100%
The Hardest part is taking off
An Airplane is only designed to set off on 100% Throttle
It does not take off in first 100 Yards but it’s not until 500 yards that it takes off.
Need to throw it at 100% Throttle to get your life out of the valley of despair and by putting the time in now to be lazy later you can truly be free.
Yep. We're feeling it here. We've had a little drama in our tiny village even. Of course the larger world is in quite a tizzy, but I think it's just part of waking up. I think more people are really beginning to see and hear and care. Some are still fighting it, but evolution is happening.
When I was talking to my neighbor about it, we came back to "growing pains" a couple of times. In a sense, maybe the unrest is the result of tension between those who see that real change is NOW and necessary... and those who are fighting to stay asleep and just let things continue to be as they have always been.
What a beautiful view.
I tend to pray my heart out when I'm feeling overwhelmed and to figure out where to begin. I actually just wrote a post about how I deal with overwhelm.
I've been observing the same in my community. People are struggling, more than normal, it seems.
Thank you!
I expect some of it is cyclical.
The kids just went back to school and we're done with summer fun, the days are getting shorter and we come face to face with projects abandoned or set aside when summer holidays started.
livelifefullest, not only live for work, but work to live. Enjoy every single day, laugh at least every day and stay in contact with friends. And remember; small things could bring much fun, and doesn't have to cost money at all.... So live now, dont wait till age 65.
Very true, and an important message! My wife and I are in the process of making our lives "smaller" so we can have more time to enjoy, and need to put less time into working.
Whereas it's doubtful we will ever be able to afford to "retire," at least we intend to have fun doing what we do!
With lovely friends and with the thought in your mind; if you cant respect small things, you are not worth big things; you wil sure manage.
Actually we do not need so much in life. Health / Fun / Spare time / and each other .... then we are already very Rich
perfect one dude upvoted like always
Thanks for your support @rebecca80.
Keep positive my friend... love the life you have!
Thanks! Doing the best we can...