In times of turmoil and uncertainty, GROUND YOURSELF
Before I launch into today’s topic—which is how to ground yourself, and what that means—I want to first acknowledge that the reason this is the topic for this week is related to the insurrection and attempted coup at the United States Capitol last week. An attempt was made to violently overthrow the U.S. congress, and it becomes clearer by the day that it was no spur-of-the-moment thing for at least some of the people involved, who intended to take prisoners and possibly kill members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Those terrorist actions are apparently not isolated events, and the FBI is warning today of additional threats in the U.S. Capitol and all 50 state capitols (and elsewhere) at least until January 20th, and possibly beyond.
If that makes you angry, or fearful, or sad, it’s understandable. People are engaged in the violent overthrow of our government, or who are opposed to the peaceful transfer of power, and it is not okay.
The end result, of course, is that many of us do not feel okay, either. Which brings me to the topic of grounding.
What grounding is
These days, if someone says “you’re grounded” to me, it has a completely different meaning than when I was a teen. In some ways, being grounded is akin to being down to earth. More specifically, it means to be energetically connected to the earth and in alignment with your values.
When you are not grounded, it’s akin to being adrift. It’s easy to feel untethered, distracted, possibly even stressed out or chaotic.
Here’s a tree comparison:
A tree that has a strong taproot and root system digs deeply and strongly into the earth. It may sway during bad weather, but it’s not going anywhere. That’s pretty comparable to being grounded.
A tree that has a shallow root system, on the other hand, may not only sway, but actively bend, twist, fall over, or even get flung around during bad weather. That’s how it can feel when you’re not grounded.
Ways to ground yourself
Some of the ways to help you ground yourself are the same as (or very similar to) common exercises to combat anxiety. Which is, I think, handy given our current world situation.
They include:
deep breathing, including things such as boxed breathing
doing the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise or something similar to establish yourself in your current place and time
spending time outside in nature, whether that is sitting in the sun, literally hugging (or leaning on) a tree, or taking a walk
declutter to relieve stress
taking care of your basic self-care needs. And I do mean basic: sleep; nutrition; hydration; and exercise
All of these above practices (which are explained further at the links I’ve given you above) will help you to feel centered and grounded. And while that won’t make everything in the world better right now, it will make your immediate world a bit better.
Let that be enough.
Between coronavirus and insurrection, we have had lots of reminders that LIFE IS SHORT. If you are ready to take action to make your own dreams a reality, I hope you will join me for Dream It, Do It, an online event taking place the first weekend in February. Find out more about it here.
