If only it was that easy to say to ourselves, “Hey, stop being anxious about X,Y, and Z and start being grateful for A,B & C!” In a perfect world, we would be happy, loving, grateful individuals walking around in a perfect bubble with their perfect attitudes all the time.
Imagine if we could put ourselves in an environment that had no stress, no harmful chemicals, just pure clean water, pure clean food nutrients that are delicious and healthy for us. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Instead, we live in a constant state that causes us anxiety, panic, and stress, from the foods we eat to the air we breathe.
We live in a day where red dye number 4 and yellow dye number 2, which are known to cause cancer in other countries, are somehow ‘OK’ for us to consume. We live in a day in which we use chemicals to regulate moods and attitudes, where we genetically modify food for mass consumption rather than nutritional value, where we accept contaminated water pollution levels and we breathe in air that is poisonous and harmful to our health. It’s no wonder our children are more anxious, dealing with higher numbers of ADHD, cancer, and other diseases than ever before.
Now, as much as I would like to say that I have a magic pill to get rid of everything that is harmful and detrimental to everyone’s health, the truth is there isn’t one. There is no perfect way, there is no “one path.” The truth is we are individuals who individually need to figure out what is the best way for us.
Collectively, we need to share, accept, and love. We also need to shore more gratitude. Does gratitude work? Of course it does. If you can train your mind to flip the switch from anxiety to gratitude, you are better off than 99.9% of the population. However, that switch isn’t always set on “automatic.” If not careful, that switch can toggle back-and-forth with the TV we watch, with the foods we eat, and with the people that we put around us.
I write this message to you, today, because I want you to understand that you are more than the sum of 1 or 2 things. You are a complex individual with complex thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You’re also in a constant battle with these thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You see, what may affect you one way today, could affect you differently tomorrow.
Now here are some tricks that may help:
Step 1 – Stay away from any negative social media. Does this mean you should not go on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc? No, you can still enjoy those fun apps, but avoid or limit (as much as possible) the content that’ll produce negative thoughts, emotions, or feelings. This step alone will work wonders to calm your nervous system all around.
Step 2 – Eat and drink healthier, as much as possible. There is no perfect diet, but aim to get as close to perfect as you can. Eat more fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, and proteins that your body can digest and process. In addition to that, drink clean water and stay away from stimulants like drugs, alcohol, caffeine, soda (or pop), and other things that are known carcinogen agents.
Step 3 – Be weary of the company you keep. Be careful with who you place around you. This is a very important step because we are energy beings; we exude and absorb energy all at once from the people around us. If you’ve ever been in a room full of people and had a funny feeling about someone that you didn’t know, it’s probably because your energies didn’t match. They weren’t a good fit for you. Be selective and keep those around you that make you feel good, raise your frequency and vibration, and are able to intellectually stimulate your mind.
Step 4 – Meditate, pray, or sit in isolation for a certain amount of time every day. Whether it be 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or even an hour, use this time to help you focus. This will help you realize and appreciate being more present in the moment. This action calms you down, it centers you, and it grounds you. Start with small increments and then find the right length of time for you. Every bit helps, remember that. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “If you can’t meditate for 10 minutes, then you should meditate for an hour!” This is so true.
Step 5 – Remember to breathe. Obviously we all breathe all the time, but I’m talking about finding places where you can go to take in a deep breathe of nature. Go somewhere in nature where there’s grass, trees, plants, shrubs, bushes, anything that is alive and green. If you live in the city it may be difficult to do so, but you can go down by the lake, or you can go to a forest preserve, or a garden. Breathing in clean air is imperative for healthy function of your limbic system, your nervous system, your body, your organs, and your cells.
Step 6 – Sleep. We are so stressed out that we can’t function and we can’t even sleep because we are constantly on the go. There’s something called a circadian rhythm. I don’t need to explain it in this article, however, you can look it up and come ask me about it. You can set your circadian rhythm to 6 to 8 hours of sleep a day. You will be better off. Your body will function better and your nervous system will be able to shut down properly and get into rest and repair mode at night.
Step 7 – Let’s talk about hearing. That’s important too. We surround ourselves with noise every day from morning till night. This type of stimulation to our nervous system can be overwhelming. Find the time where you can sit in silence, without music playing, without TV, without cellphone rings. Sit in silence and notice your body’s noise; notice your bodies frequencies and vibrations. Once you can do this, you’ll be able to understand (on a deeper level) how your body reacts and how you hold the key to your inner peace.
I know this can seem like a lot. However, integrating small portions of this into your life, and taking it one week at a time, step-by-step, will be beneficial. Go at your pace and do not beat yourself up when you forget or falter. When you stumble, pick yourself back up and go back to it.
Remember life is about living. I’m not saying you have to go sit somewhere on the top of a mountain, eating nuts and berries, breathing fresh air, and drinking snow water. Live your life, enjoy your life. Don’t get stressed out over the small stuff.
These are just suggestions on how to, peacefully, add a little more gratitude to your life. Gratitude can aid in combating anxiety. I love you and only want the best for you as a collective. Have a great day and remember to breathe.
