It takes a lot of work to find ease, Week Forty-Three in the No Longer New Abnormal

In the USA we have a national and local election coming up and the stress related to that is palpable in most communities. There is division and animosity. Strong feelings are being played out in arguments, and in non-political spaces. Road rage, short tempers and dismissiveness abound. To offset that we have to make intentional choices. Can we find lightness in all of this infuriation? I’m working on it. But it’s not easy. Meditation works. It’s not an instant fix, but the more I spend time focusing on the present the more I can stay in all the other present moments, and not get caught up in election anxiety. Patience helps. If I can understand that my expectation that things should go a certain way are in conflict with the reality at hand, I can calm myself down.

I am not listening to news that instigates my ire for their ratings. I read AllSides, https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news, so I can understand opposing points of view and reach my own conclusions. I also like 1440, https://join1440.com. Neither are complete news sources, but I can follow a story if I want more. The outline format is calming rather than activating…