Roller Coaster
In 1989 Ron Howard directed a film starring Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen that I absolutely loved. It was called Parenthood. I rewatched it within the last decade or so and parts of it didn’t age so well, but parts of it are timeless. Steve Martin’s character taught me the word amalgam (which is a mixture or blend) when he talked about memories he had of growing up and applying them to his adulthood. He was having an early mid-life crisis of sorts while life became overwhelming. He thought it was his job to fix everyone’s problems; his boss’s demands, his children’s needs, his brother’s addiction crisis, his sister’s family problems, and his grandma’s confusion, as I recall. (If I’m wrong, you’re allowed to correct me in the comments!) He was describing his life as a roller coaster and how much he hated it! Mary Steenburgen’s character explained how she loves roller coasters while Grandma mistakenly sat in the neighbor’s car before they left for a family event.
I’ve been thinking about the roller coaster analogy a lot lately, as it’s an accurate depiction of my current situation. I am healthy, strong, and feeling peace and love, but there is a LOT going on around me and with people that I love. Being an empath, who feels the emotions of others means that I can sense strongly when people around me are feeling joyful, angry, sad, or lonely. It’s only recently that I have trained myself to discern whether the emotions I’m feeling are my own, to put up protections so that I don’t feel too much, clear away what isn’t mine, and allow others to feel and process their own stuff. Those were difficult lessons for me, and sometimes I still default to taking on other’s stuff and trying to fix it - a BIG universal law NO-NO that actually isn’t helpful for anyone, as each of us come here to learn our own lessons. OOPS!
So, how am I (how do you?) dealing with this roller coaster of emotions and situations without losing my ever-loving mind?
Meditation: Admittedly, I don’t have time for long meditations right now. People need my physical help. However, I have now been practicing meditation long enough that I can close my eyes, take a deep breath and get into a different mindset almost immediately. The age-old advice of taking a breath and counting to ten is wise. We all can handle that much.
Prayer: “Pour out thy healing angels, thy heavenly hosts, upon me and those that I love. Let them feel the light of your healing hands, and let thy healing begin whatever way God grants it.” I must say this prayer a dozen times a day, and often as I fall to sleep at night. It’s basically my mantra and I know when I say it, it shall be done.
Reiki: Daily, I am sending reiki to others and pulling reiki energy into myself to replenish my soul and my body. It’s exhausting to love and care for so many people. I wouldn’t have it any other way- but if I don’t take time to take care of myself, I could end up sick and that doesn’t help anyone.
Grounding: When I can, I’m getting my bare feet on the earth and breathing in Mother Nature’s oxygen gift. When I can’t, I run my hands (or my body) under water and declare myself “grounded”. It’s as simple as that and helps keep me in respond vs. react mode.
Protecting: A few months ago, I wrote a blog about a Pyramid Meditation. These days I don’t always take the time to go chakra by chakra through the meditation, but imagine myself in the pyramid connected to the center of the earth and the center of the cosmos through my hara line, then I turn on all my chakra lights at once and imagine golden creator light sparkles filling and surrounding me in a layer of protection. I ask my angels to protect me throughout the day, and Archangel Michael to cut any cords attached to me so that I’m not carrying around stuff that’s not mine to carry. If this sounds too confusing, just ask your angels to protect you!
When life starts throwing curveballs our way, one after another with no end in sight, it’s important to be able to put ourselves in a space where we can function and help those who need it most. I’m trusting, if you’ve made it this far- you’re one of these people…and I say the “Healing Angels” prayer for you too!
