Ok friends, you know I never lie to you, and this week is no different. I must admit, I have felt incredibly challenged. Lately I have been relying on my tools to maneuver through the past few weeks. I’ve been feeling really angry, frustrated, sad, and scared.

These are not feelings that I’m used to feeling (very often), and especially not all in a condensed period of time. In recent weeks, feeling happy has felt elusive and out of reach.

Perhaps this is because of the state of the world, or maybe it is due to all of the separation I’ve witnessed.  It could be related to my own mind running rampant or a combination of many things. The point is that I’ve been feeling low, and it’s been a real journey to come back to a sense of equilibrium and peace.

I have had so many people ask me my thoughts on how to feel happy and “normal” when the times we live in feel far from either. I’ve really had to think long and hard about my answer because I felt stumped for a while. I had to do the work on my own to discover an authentic path to inner peace and contentedness during very distressing times.

First of all, I think it’s only natural for us all to feel subpar these days. Our internal state is matching the external environment. We wouldn’t be sensitive, feeling humans, if we didn’t feel influenced by the world events.

The trick is, how can we balance out our reactions to the external world, so that it doesn’t severely influence our internal world?

There is a way! And of course, it takes practice and a strong reliance on our own sense of self. So if you, too, feel taken over by sadness and grief, I share these tips with you in hopes to help you feel a sense of normalcy, so that we can all remain on our paths of being great lights in the world. I hope you find this helpful:

– Remember that you cannot control the external world, but you can control what happens within! Once you recognize this, everything changes. Create a strong foundation inside yourself. Get grounded and secure in who you are, what you stand for, and how you want to present yourself to the world.

-Allow yourself the time and space to process your thoughts and feelings. It’s ok to be vulnerable, out of sorts, or under the weather, in fact, it’s normal. Honor this time and this space. Rely on your practices to hold you in this time. I personally do this in my daily meditation and journaling practices. During this time I witness my thoughts, honor them, and let them go.

-Explore activities and hobbies that bring you pure joy. Set an intention to participate in things that make you truly happy. Give yourself your presence to be captured by joyful moments.

-Take time to be with the ones you love. Reconnect with friends and family you might feel distance from. Remind someone that they are loved and valued. Do nice things for strangers for no reason at all. When the world feels dark, the only thing that brings me back to light is to remember that in the end the love we have for each other is stronger than anything else.

-Take inspired action. Consider how you could make a positive impact in the world and be an example of love in motion. When each of us make moves to create the world we want to live in, the world has no choice, but to react to it. Remember, you are powerful!

Wishing you all happiness and peace this week as always,

~ xoxo Michelle