Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity ~ Anon
How true is this statement & how difficult is it to do this especially at the moment, when so much of the news & our current lifestyle is still based on things that we can’t do rather than focusing on & enjoying the things that we now can?
What is your ‘happy place’? Where do you feel most at home, most comfortable & comforted when times are tough?
Is it somewhere that you can travel to in spite of covid restrictions? Is it somewhere deep inside that you can retreat to when you need to rest & refresh yourself after a trying time?
Meditation & mindfulness are great ways to train ourselves to let go of negativity & distracting thoughts so that our minds & bodies can rest & regenerate a bit.
Sometimes focusing on an image or listening to a piece of music can help to take our distracting thoughts away & give us a chance to calm ourselves, whilst deepening our breathing can help to create a physical calmness & slow our pulse rate a little if we are feeling anxious or overwhelmed in a situation.
It has always fascinated me how there are so often two ways to view things, like the glass half full or glass half empty approach to life. For example, what do you see when you look at this image? A beautiful blossom, vibrant colour, sitting joyfully on lifegiving water? Or a wilting bloom becoming lifeless as the water quietly submerges it & damages the petals? Can you see either or both of those things? Can you choose which of those images you see even though both can be apparent to you?
I often find that is the case for me. I can see things either way depending upon the mood I am in when first viewing an image such as this one but I’ve often been fortunate that if the negative option is the first one I see, I’ve been able to choose to see the positive although it may take a little time & conscious effort.
Sometimes that is called positive reframing. We can do it with situations as well as with images. For me it’s often provided a good way to help myself to feel lighter & more hopeful on tough days.
If you think talking about this or anything else would help to explore ways of fostering a sense of peace and calm in your lifestyle our chaplains are happy to listen.
You can find them on Mondays and Wednesdays in the outdoor areas near the duck pond and the woodshed weather permitting.
In the meantime, on the rainy days, or if you don’t manage to catch up with a chaplain outside, as always you can contact us via email on info@mitechaplaincy.com where you can request a call-back, or you are very welcome to call me directly on my mobile: 07526 378529 either to chat or to arrange a time to meet.
Debbie
We also have a range of resources on our web-site including some that are more specific to the Covid-19 outbreak and some that generally help in dealing with stress: https://mite.org.uk
If you prefer you can easily keep in touch with us on social media: Facebook: @mitechaplaincy Twitter: @mitesthwarr
