How do we hold ourselves steady at times when the world feels like it’s spinning out of control? When we feel powerless to make a difference to the things we see happening around us? This is the question I have been asking myself lately. Perhaps you have too.
Meditation has been my solace in the good times and the bad. When my own thoughts are too troubling for the silence I seek in meditation, then I turn to the recorded meditations of my teachers - sometimes I need that safe voice to carry me into the peace that eludes me.
Reading also helps - I find myself re-reading old favourites, since there is comfort in the familiar voice of a novel or poem you know and love. I read To Kill a Mockingbird every other year or so, because it reminds me of the basic goodness of people. The big events that reach us via the news don’t speak to the millions of small kindnesses that happen in communities all around the world, every single day. I went out for lunch today and the waiter was so warm-hearted towards my aunt with learning disabilities that he quite restored my faith in humanity. Not everyone knows how to make a person with special needs laugh, but this young man did. He probably doesn’t know what a difference he made.
Music - ah, music. From the songs I sing (loudly) in my car and kitchen to the classical music that speaks wordlessly to my troubles, music nurtures and restores me. It is also something to share, yesterday my daughter sent me I Have Considered the Lilies by Connie Converse. Such a perfect and beautiful little thing.
In times of trouble it is important that we take what comfort we can from our practice of yoga and meditation, from the sustaining beauty of these autumn days in nature, from the words, songs and art that inspire and uplift us.
We help nobody by being dragged under. What do you do to stay afloat when life feels hard? What poets, writers and musicians do you recommend? I’d love to know.
Sarah x