There is no doubt that our world seems out of control.  Natural disasters, war, political upheavals and closer to home; divorce rates, illness and financial devastation shakes up even the most balanced individual.

The recent onslaught of earthquakes and job loss, whales beaching themselves and oil spilling into our ocean validates these feelings of being out of control.  Predictions of more natural disasters to come along with masses of people predicting doom and gloom only creates additional fear and anxiety. Filling our days with sharing the gory details and by spreading fear of what’s next? contributes to the overall negativity of an already dire situation.

What to do?  We can send the help that we’re able to send and then we can turn off our televisions.

Watching the news night after night highlighting the horrific footage does nothing to help.  If we spin out in the fear and  sadness we do nothing to help our planet.

We can only truly control our inner world.  We can’t control the world around us; but we can meditate, do yoga, eat healthy, practice kindness and remember compassion.  Loving the ones we love with more intensity, looking forward to a brighter future, visualizing peace and practicing what we wish for in the small microcosm of our own world; can make a difference.

As Gandhi once said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

As I opened the paper last spring, I saw the Japanese nuclear meltdown story and felt a cold shimmer of fear run through my body.  If things are as dire as they seem, do I really want to waste this life around me that in this moment is peaceful by worrying of things to come?  I looked outside and the sky was blue.  In my small world things were peaceful.

It may sound naive, but after we do what we can do to help; appreciating the life that we have and walking in balance with love in our hearts is really all that we can do.  Gratitude and love are the most potent forces on the planet.

So do what you can to help and then turn off your television; meditate and pray, love your life and those around you; then visualize our world healed and perfect.  Take care of the earth around you, teach future generations to love and respect not only our planet, but also the people around them; and know that for every small action there is a larger reaction.

May there be peace and comfort in the hearts of those affected by the recent tragedies.  May those that have lost loved ones find resolution, may those in pain find relief; and may those of us lucky enough to be safe and secure realize our many blessings.

xo

** Closely related topic: My top 10 ways to instantly relieve stress and overwhelm

Nuclear Photo AP photo, tree from freedigitalphotos.net by Dan, meditation photo from healthxwellness.com, whale Photo by Tim Brown www.aerophoto.com.au,