May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you live in peace...
May the people of Ukraine be safe,
May the people of Ukraine be healthy,
May the people of Ukraine live in peace...
How do we continue to walk through life when things are difficult without completely shutting down? How do we process all that is going on in the world right now; the pain, the heartbreak, the injustice? You might be feeling like climbing into bed and pulling the covers up overhead or crying all of the time...and sometimes you might need to do just that. Other times you can allow yourself to feel it...allow it to be what it is...acknowledge...this is difficult. And maybe at some point, you can take a step forward.
For me, I've been struggling with what to do. This feeling of helplessness and sadness is overwhelming at times. But then I remember something one of my trusted teachers shared with me when a loved one was suffering in the hospital. She pointed out that my anger at the doctors and nurses was really me trying to control an out-of-control situation. I couldn't fix my loved one and take away their pain. This feeling of helplessness and sadness for me turned into anger because the feelings felt like too much, and I thought I would be consumed by it. Her suggestion - offer loving-kindness by sending love from my heart. Honestly, I brushed it off when she said it thinking that it would not help. But when I found myself sitting in the hospital room with those desperate feelings coming up again, I was able to pause, stay with myself, and offer loving kindness to my loved one. While this didn't fix the situation, instead of putting grief and despair out into the room and out to the world, I was putting out loving-kindness. This benefited my loved one, and it benefited me by reducing stress and anxiety for both of us. When I feel like the energy of what I am putting out into the world doesn't matter, I remind myself of the butterfly effect which generally purports that small, seemingly insignificant changes can have big effects (for more on the butterfly effect click here).
So what can we do during these heartbreaking times?
Sit and feel where your body is in space several times a day. Consider setting a timer on your phone. Notice sensations, breathing, your feet on the ground. For recordings of short, simple meditations click here.
Draw your attention to your heart space and imagine it opening and feelings of love or peace flowing in and out with the breath.
Send some loving-kindness by saying out loud or in your mind's eye: "May I be safe, May I be healthy, May I live in peace; May all beings be safe, May all beings be healthy, May all beings live in peace." Imagine the energy of love and peace radiating out from your heart for you and for all suffering beings on the Earth. For recordings of loving-kindness mediations click here.
If you have the means, find an organization that you trust and donate to a cause that you feel strongly about. Do you need some suggestions? A list from the Copper Beech Institute suggests Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, Ukraine Red Cross, and United Help Ukraine. Know of others? Drop them in the comments.
Shut off the TV and limit your time on social media. This does not mean that you are uncaring or that you are burying your head in the sand and living in denial. How does it help anyone to constantly ingest the difficulties of the world? Too much media causes me needless worry and anxiety, and that is not what I want to put out into the world.
Small acts of kindness locally. The little things you do really matter!
For more ideas, here is an article from WebMD: What to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed Or Helpless.
I'm sharing this loving-kindness again because I don't think we can share it too much:
May you be safe,
May you be healthy,
May you live in peace...
May the people of Ukraine be safe,
May the people of Ukraine be healthy,
May the people of Ukraine live in peace...