AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
There’s a lot of anxiety in the world right now. Worry about the future, violence, uncertainty, hardship, and justice occupy our minds. Though it makes perfect sense that we would have worry and fear, how can you learn to keep it in check, find a place of peace, and transform anxiety into positive energy and action?
There will be light and there will be dark. All the anxiety in the universe won’t change anyone’s situation, or an issue, or unfair policy, or wrongdoing at any level. When we work on our own consciousness, we can then connect with a collective consciousness that can transform people, countries and the entire world. Healing begins with self-reflection and discovery.
THE ROLE OF MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is the counterbalance to anxiety in both our individual lives and our connection to our world. We can use the past as a guide by gaining wisdom from what has happened to us – and to us as a society/world. We can also hold a vision of a future to use as a road map that we put our full intention into following. Yet, being present and living in the moment is where we must come back to and ground ourselves. You cannot change the past or have set expectations of the future.
Mindfulness allows you to recognize the anxiety you are feeling – and the anxiety that others are feeling also – with acceptance and focus that ultimately makes it much easier to turn into empowerment. We cannot take up residence in the past or the future. If there is something you want to change, you start by changing your thinking. When you live with mindfulness you see anxiety as just a feeling, not something that you should grasp onto. When you live in the present, you see the bigger picture and the hope that exists even in the darkest hour.
QUIETING ANXIETY
Quieting anxiety is a quieting of the mind. All of us need to begin to take responsibility for who we are, what we are, and what it is that we want to change. To get there you have to come from a space of silence. At some stage, we must make a conscious decision to say, “Okay, here I am, I am sitting here. I’m going to be quiet for a moment and I’m going to see what is going on in my life right now that could be changed for the better.” You are inherently empowered to understand that no matter what emotion you are feeling, it’s all energy at the end of the day. How much energy you put into feeling anxious about the world, or your individual life, will determine whether it lives or whether it dies. If you plant a vegetable in the garden and you don’t water it and give it nourishment, it will die, simple as that. You have to cut off the life force of anything you don’t want in your life anymore, or it’s going to continue to grow. The first step is to acknowledge that anxiety is keeping you from experiencing all the potential that is available to you. Once you recognize that anxiety has become an issue, you can begin to take away its life force.
#LLLD
Derek O’Neill, fondly referred to as the Celtic Sage, inspires and uplifts people from all walks of life, offering guidance to influential world leaders, businesses, celebrities, athletes and everyday people alike. Distilled from his life work in psychotherapy, a martial arts career and study with wise yogis and Indian and Tibetan masters, Derek translates ancient wisdom into modern day teachings to address the biggest challenges facing humanity today. For additional insights listen to his free radio archives explore over 20 personal development books including Stop The Struggle, Bullying, Love/Divorce, Grief, Mindfulness, Anxiety, Stress and Depression.
Image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio.
