When Feeling Sad or Overwhelmed

When I despair, I remember that all through history,
the way of truth and love have always won.
- Mahatma Gandhi

 

During the last week, I felt myself being pulled into a feeling of frustration, even a bit of overwhelm, as I faced several challenges that I could not figure out how to resolve.

As I looked for music to help me shift my mood, a song from Carrie Newcomer spoke to me and brought me to a place of balance and gratitude.

In “Three Feet or So,” Carrie reminded me of what I knew, but had lost sight of as I sank into my frustration.

When I'm weary lost or sad,
overwhelmed or just fed up,
I say grace for what I have,
and most of the time that is enough.

I had gotten so focused on problem solving that I forgot my usual mood shifter. Gratitude has helped to bring me back to balance many times, and this time, it did, too. But first, I had to release the frustration that I felt.

Larry is a great sounding board. He listened as I shared with him the thoughts that I was having and feelings that they triggered in me. That enabled me to release emotions that were interfering with my ability to see the obvious solutions to the problems that I was trying to resolve.

When I have built up emotions, it helps me to vent. Larry is a good listener, and I can always count on him to sit with me and just listen as I express whatever is in me that needs to come out.

That was all I needed to get my balance back. Then, I thought about the many things for which I am grateful. As I spoke them out loud, I returned to a sense of wellbeing.

With that new mindset, I was able to see the obvious solutions that my frustrated mind had not been able to see. It was a good reminder to me to catch myself as I begin to feel frustrated and to take a break - do something relaxing or uplifting to shift my energy back to wellbeing.

If you don’t have anyone with whom you feel safe expressing what you’re feeling, you might want to talk out loud to yourself, or write it on paper or in the computer, then burn it or erase it with the intention of releasing it from your life.

When life seems overwhelming, we may have to dig deep to find anything that we are grateful for. Even when current challenges are dominating our thoughts and feelings, when we think about the big picture of our life, we realize that we have many things for which we are thankful, beginning with the breath in our body that keeps us alive.

If I start by being kind,
Love usually follows right behind.
It nods its head and softly hums,
saying, “Honey that's the way it's done.”

When we act with kindness, we tap into the love within us. We believe that Love is our essential nature, and kindness is the way that we express it in the world every time that we give it an opening.

Love is the reason that we have a yearning for connection with others. It is the impulse that causes us to smile at another person, to learn their name and to listen to their stories.

Every act of kindness is an expression of love.

I can't change the whole world,
But I can change the world I know,
What's within three feet or so.

None of us can change the world. That is not our job. We believe that we are called on to decide what we will add to the world, then, to focus on doing that in a way that feels right to us.

By changing what we bring to what is in front of us, we have an impact on others. Acts of kindness create ripples that go out from them and affect the people to whom we are kind and, also, those who witness our kindness. How any of them respond is up to them. We will never know the full impact, if any, of our actions. We don’t need to know.

You may feel called to join an organization or a group that is working to bring supplies, support or services to people in need. If so, you are widening your circle of kindness beyond three feet or so. That is an important way to be of service, but nothing is more important than how we interact with those who are right in front of us.

Who would you like to include in your circle of kindness?

What sparks an impulse in you to reach out to someone with kindness?

It’s up to each of us to decide how to respond to the impulse within us to reach out to others with love.

We wish you joy on your journey, as you continue to take your love out into the world.

     Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Click here to see Carrie Newcomer's Video, "Three Feet or So"

What are your thoughts? Do these ideas speak to you? Please leave a comment below. Thank you.

Help us to spread messages of kindness. If you know others who might appreciate these ideas, please share below. Thank you.

We’re grateful that you are on this journey with us.

With love from our hearts to yours,
Pat and Larry