One of the guideposts to wholehearted living is developing calm and stillness, according to Brené Brown, author of "The Gifts of Imperfection". I am certainly more calm now then thirty years ago. I do have a protocol, when faced with adversity, which does not serve me. My first response is to feel a dread rise up from my gut. That feeling is so familiar and it brings on panic. Panic then leads to futurizing about all the possible bad scenarios. I am recalibrating this native response. One tool is making a calm map.
This map leads me to a new way to process adversity. That dread feeling has been swallowed and pushed back down in the past. Not a healthy way to process feelings. I am going to try to allow that feeling to rise and dissipate. Noticing nature is another way to come back to calm. Nature has many examples to share. Take, for instance, this Shamrock plant. It closes during the night. The leaves fold up and rest. As light grows brighter and the day progresses it opens up and spreads out. I have never seen this in a house plant.
I feel the affects of inviting calm into my life. It gives me more confidence about myself facing the future. It makes me more pleasant to be around.
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