Today I woke up at 4 am. I clicked on the TV and the early morning news was on. My chest felt heavy. My heart was beating to the point where I noticed it. What was wrong with me? Hmm…let's see….lives in Orlando were completely shredded, Trump could possibly become president, and my sister carries a gun in her purse. I had lots to say about all of this, but I couldn't decide if writing about it would make me feel better or just make me more upset.
I decided to step back and think about the best way to deal with the anxiety today's world brings us. I realized it's not about the issues or people's choices and opinions because I could argue and post all day long and at the end of the day the issues would still be the issues and people's choices and opinions will still be their choices and opinions. So what is the answer? How do I find peace and quiet that anxiety I woke up with?
Instead of firing up the iPad and cranking out my own views and opinions, I headed to my exercise room and commenced with my morning workout. Ended with a few yoga stretches, then laid in corpse pose and gave a minute of thanks that at almost 63 I can do the things I do and nothing hurts.
Why was this the best move? Because instead of focusing on other peoples choices and opinions and feeling the need to defend my own, it's what is in my head that will ultimately lift me up or bring me down. Our heads dictate what our bodies become. Anger and emotional fits over things and people that we cannot control can actually hurt a person physically. The emotional upheaval causes our muscles and ligaments to tense up, holding our joints in a chronic state of stress. Venting, ranting, posting, and reading stuff on Facebook cranks those tendons and ligaments tighter – and eventually things begin to hurt. Exercise in some form counteracts this and relaxes the muscles and loosens the hold on the joints. So, I need to take care of my head in order to maintain a healthy body in the years to come.
First thing I do is hide all negative posters from my newsfeed. I know they all have their opinions and arguments and reasons – and they have every right to them – but they can hurt me a lot in this stage of life I'm in and I have to guard against that. A dear client of mine in her seventies said something to me in conversation a few months ago that stuck in my head and rattled around there. She said, “When I turned 70 I realized it is all about my health. Anything or anyone that is negative is out.” In the weeks to come I realized she was right. I listen to the news once a day, catch CBS This Morning a few times a week because I believe it's important to be informed, but I don't allow drama in my life (unless my children or family are in crisis). I spend my time with like-minded people who are positive and focus on health and strength.
No, I am not “burying my head in the sand.” As you can see by the way I woke up at 4 am I am well aware of what is going on, but it is not healthy or in my best interest to sit on Facebook or in front of the TV and bombard my head with it for hours on end. Nor is it in the best interest of my aging body to get into debates and rants with people whose opinions differ from mine, because guess what? Nobody wins. Constant turmoil burrows itself in my brain and my head starts wreaking havoc on my body so what I allow inside my head has to be carefully guarded because nobody is going to take care of me except me.
I find peace in these troubled times in exercise that allows my mind to relax and my body to strengthen. I focus on only the things I can control each day and do not waste precious energy on things I can't. We only get so much energy in a 24 hour period and as we age that amount severely diminishes with slowing metabolism and gun debates and presidential nominees are not going to steal mine. I work too hard building muscle to keep that metabolism burning. I would rather spend my energy on helping people at work and enjoying my home and my family in the off hours. By doing that I am keeping peace in my head and taking care of the body that has to serve me in the years ahead.
And so, as another day goes by, it's difficult to attain peace of mind and heart in these troubled times, but not impossible, and…I have written.
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