Recharge Your Soul: Your Next Steps for Feeling Connected, Valued, and Purposeful

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you must honor the light inside to be able to pour it out into the world

”

BY: #STUKGIRL MADELYN

Heaviness. It’s around every corner lately. We all know why. We are all very much aware of the social, political, and health concerns going on right now. Awareness is not the issue. Personally, I’m feeling overwhelmed. Not only am I overwhelmed by the darkness and the hate, but I feel so inadequate. The minute I get on social media, it seems like people are arguing over whether you stand for justice or not if you don’t make a public post. If you don’t use a certain hashtag, people degrade you for being silent. If you don’t post safety precautions on your story, you might as well not care about the health of others and yourself.

I want to remind you all of something: your silence is not your weakness. In many cases, your silence can be your strength. I have used this period of time for deep self-reflection. I have turned inward to question my own habits, biases, and empathy. I have had personal conversations that are uncomfortable at times but also necessary. If you feel discomfort in posting about these issues, don’t feel alone. I am a rather private person in many respects, and while I fully support anyone using hashtags or posting daily reminders, I don’t want to put everything in life on display for others to know. Because at the end of the day, I want others making their own decisions. I want those loved ones around me to fight for a cause because THEY believe in it, not because they jumped on the bandwagon.

The illusion that social media is real life becomes a bit of an issue for me here. Personally, I would rather take tangible steps to making this world a better place. I remove myself from the internet during these times more than I take solace in it. I detach myself from hateful comments and useless arguments about whether someone is right or wrong. Instead, I invite those who are different from me to sit down in person and talk about our experiences. I donate my time. I do more research on how I can contribute outside of an app or a website. It’s not wrong to post about anything at all. I applaud you for it. But when the media gets too soul sucking for me, I have to step back and remind myself how to feel connected, valued, and purposeful and what I can do to make everyone around me feel the same way regardless of their political or social standings.

My empathic nature is tugging at my heart every minute of the day. I have had to develop rituals to keep me grounded and searching for the heart of life so that I can mature into a more well-informed human being. In no way is this an exhaustive list of the steps I have taken to ensure I do the necessary internal work, but I will give as many examples so that you might find inspiration in starting your own practice.

I have found so much solace in learning more about yoga during this time. Far beyond the asanas, or physical manifestations of yogic philosophy, there are many facets to the practice that call upon our inner light to stretch ourselves and reach for clarity. I’ve taken so much comfort in learning about the yamas, which are right-living checks for being a good human, and one of the eight limbs of yoga. One of the yamas that I’m particularly drawn to during this time is ahimsa. Ahimsa is another word for nonviolence, also translated as “non- harming”. To practice ahimsa means that we do not harm with our words, thoughts, or actions. It is refraining from harming others or ourselves. How pertinent during these times of unrest! If only we could look to ahimsa to practice kindness and compassion for ourselves and every living thing… it is the essence of both self-love and selflessness.

Along with learning more about the mental manifestations of yoga, I am of course avidly working on other components of my mental health during this time that seems to cause so much anxiety. A daily meditation practice is so grounding for me. I used to feel that I needed 10 minutes every morning and night, but lately I have adapted more to taking short meditation breaks throughout the day whenever I feel the pressure start to build up in my chest. I physically hold a lot of tension there, and when it erupts, I turn to an app called “Simple Habit” for a guided meditation. In the search bar, you can look for key words or use the meditation tab to find certain genres of meditations you enjoy. If the pressures of the world today are having a negative impact on your sleep patterns, there are also sleep meditations that are beneficial. I’m always sure to use my essential oils diffuser at night with lavender in it to honor my senses and awaken an energy of calm and stability.

Unplugging myself so to speak from social media has given me a craving for the outdoors as well. I don’t know about you, but I just feel such a calling to ground myself in the earth and where I came from during this time to establish a better sense of identity and strength in my core values. I have been taking walks at night every night around 8:30pm when the sun sets here on the east coast. When I pass by others, I feel so connected to them. I make a point to close my eyes and take note of every step I take, whispering this mantra to myself every now and then: We are all One. I have never felt more connected to my brothers and sisters of the world than with those simple words.

I want you to know that the way you choose to express yourself can NEVER be wrong, unless you are deliberately inflicting harm upon others. There is no place for deliberate violence or hatred. We must, however, make peace with the way others express themselves… or even choose NOT to express themselves when they need to take a mental break. We are all just humans learning and growing here on this earth. Let’s set an intention together today to promise to be the light to everyone around you. First you must honor the light inside to be able to pour it out into the world. I believe in you.