Protecting oneself from bad news

How do you protect yourself from bad news? 

I've stopped actively listening to the news, but I haven't stopped talking to people and bad things happen to people all around and they tell you about it. I have never thought of protecting myself before now and have found myself absorbing these horrible stories. My heart aches for the people involved and I find myself thinking about these things over and over again.

I don't think that my spirit was meant to endure negative energy for prolonged periods of time. My rehashing the stories I've been told and feeling the pain and sadness for them is of no use to anyone. But I can't seem to stop my mind from seeking out this sadness. I know bad things happen and I have empathy for the people it happens to, but I don't want to bring myself down for days sometimes, because of these bad things.

So how to stop it?

I'm not going to stop talking to people and I'm not very well going to tell them that I only want to hear the good things they have to say. That is not what life is about. Having relationships with people is letting them tell you about themselves and what's going on in their lives, including the bad stuff. Sometimes talking about it is a step in their healing process. You should be honored that you can help in that process, but that doesn't mean that you have to take the bad stuff with you.

Here is a little advise I've been given. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet so I can't tell you if it helps. Go outside into nature and breath deeply. Breath in clean air - relatively depending on where you are and breath out the old, stale air. Walk bare foot on mother earth, allowing her to absorb all the negative energy from your body. Meditate. Imagine a golden light extending more than a meter from your body. The significance of a meter is that your aura extends a meter from your physical body, and this golden light needs to extend slightly past your aura to protect it when coming into contact with another persons aura.It's like putting yourself in a golden bubble of light.

I would love to hear what you do to protect your spirit. If you haven't been doing it up to now and try any of these, let me know in the comments how they work for you.

Spoiling the view

Why do you go to the botanical gardens?

I go to enjoy nature, breath some relatively fresh air and get the children out the house and away from electronic devices. I also enjoy the little bit of exercise that I get from walking around the place. I relax and connect to my inner soul and sometimes take my shoes off to feel the grass beneath my feet and interact with the earth. I want to teach my children to enjoy and cherish the beauty of nature and the earth.

But how disappointing when I get there to find the remnants of a party strewn all across the lush lawns.The lawn isn't looking so natural with champagne bottles and blue serviettes lying all over the place. And the rose garden should have bark chips keeping the soil damp, not ice-cream wrappers. 

Who are these people that come to one of the few places we have left in the cities to be with nature and leave a trail of destruction and filth behind them? If they are allowed to continue behaving as they please these havens of nature will soon only feature in scrapbooks of what our city used to look like.

How do you suggest we sort them out? 

I thought an entrance fee might help. It does to some extent. But there too I have found litter spoiling the view. Charge a higher fee and you'll have less people and you'll also have those who believe they paid entrance, so they can do as they please. 

If you don't appreciate the view of nature, then don't go to these places. Keep your rubbish at home with you and invite your like minded friends to take their litter with to the party at your house.

Take my hand

Multitasking mom

Cigarette in the right hand, cellphone in the left hand. I'm not exactly sure which hand is supposed to be controlling the steering wheel and which the gear lever. Oh there it is. Cigarette is transferred to mouth and then right hand crosses the body to go down and change gears.

Thank goodness your little girl is fast asleep in the back in the safety of her car seat. I wouldn't want her to see how her mother is putting her life in danger. Then again I am assuming you are her mother. Hey, maybe not. Maybe that's why you're not really that bothered about her having a safe journey.

Thankfully I, the person you would see in your rear-view mirror if you bothered to look every now and again can be patient sometimes. I will not cut you off. I will not sit right on your back bumper. Because although pretty amazing, your multitasking has slowed you down, just a little. Any other driver would have zoomed past you shouting and throwing signs. But I have my children in the car.

I worry for your daughter's safety and all road users who might come within a 100 meters of you. From the look on your face, this is a social call with a friend possibly. Now if that friend was in my car and seeing what I was seeing, I'm sure they would hang up and offer to call when you' reached your destination. Damn, I'm sure they'd even offer to buy you a hands free kit.

I feel as sorry for your daughter (if she is yours) as I do for the person climbing into the taxi with a driver who drives as they do to earn more money and a greedy taxi owner who won't fork out the money to buy new brake pads. Same feeling goes for the child who is having a fabulous time jumping from the back seat to the front while the driver works their way through traffic. My pity doesn't extend to that same driver when their child hurtles through their windscreen to meet their maker.

Think people! Do your children really mean that little to you? It costs nothing to teach a child, from little that their place while in a moving car is in the back with a seat-belt around them. Secured and protected as best you can, just in case. Even if you can't afford a car seat (which should be a per-requisite before you're even allowed to create a child), at least strap them in the back seat, behind one of the front seats.

Pretend you care.

Shorter

I am walking a little shorter these days,

As the weight of the world on my shoulders

pushes me into the ground.

I feel I can not walk up straight and tall.

I walk a little shorter each day,

As this weight consumes me.

I feel it in my every joint and muscle.

This weight that makes me walk a little shorter than I am.

As I breath in and out,

Concentrating on nothing.

Searching for clam and peace.

I let a breath out,

and feel my shoulders lift.

I take air in,

And on the out my shoulders lift a little more.

In disbelief I try again,

And feel some weight follow the air

on it's journey out of my body.

Today I walk a little taller.

A little straighter.

A little calmer.

A little more at peace.

Month of love

It's the month of love. The month where you spoil someone special.

Well I am herewith staging a formal protest. I totally disagree with this practice. It makes those who don't have someone special feel even more lousy than they did before February came along and splattered hearts all over the place.

I put forward a new strategy for this "month of love!"


Love yourself!!!!!
 

There are a lot of us out there who need to show more love to ourselves. Whether single or not.
We put ourselves last.
We criticize ourselves way more than anyone else - normally in jest, to hide pain. 
We are much harder on ourselves - finding fault where we would not in others.


Find the love of your life this month, within yourself. Be kind and gentle with you. Yes, you are a human and make mistakes. Get up, dust yourself off, give yourself a big hug. If need be give yourself a gentle wrap over the knuckles for your stupidity.  Then look in the mirror and tell your reflection, "I love you!" This takes a while before it feels comfortable, but just do it every day.


There is a saying that nobody can do a better job than you yourself. Then love yourself like nobody else can!

Do something that you enjoy, not necessarily something that suits everyone else. But remember that loving yourself also means looking after yourself.

Checking in

Are the broccoli and celery sticks rotting at the back of the fridge? Has the chaos of back to school and back to work taken over?

 

So how is the last year of your life, or the last year of your life as you know it going? Or is the end of days just mumbo-jumbo hype that has passed by so many times already? Whatever you believe, I hope you're having a fantastic year up to now.

Have you remembered to ask for help? Or are you so consumed by your problems that you've forgotten? Are you trying to figure out how to fix it? Have you lost your belief? Are you still struggling with whether you deserve the help?

You do!

Stop doubting yourself. Start loving yourself and living a great life. If you haven't stuck to resolutions, made in-roads on your goals, don't beat yourself up about it. Start today!

Forget yesterday. There is only today and what you do with it. Stop worrying about the how of the solution. Put your problem out there and wait for the how to come to you.

While waiting, live, love and believe.