It seems almost impossible these days to stay in a happy place.  Every day there is another horrific event that shakes you to your core.  It is so easy to get overwhelmed with the shock and sadness of it all.  It is so easy to feel hopeless. What is one to do?

I was recently having a discussion with someone about one of the latest tragedies (which I am purposely not mentioning).  We were discussing whether the world is just so much worst or is it the amount and speed at which we receive our information. I love to watch movies about different Eras.  Now I don’t want to be too graphic but back in the day if you stole a loaf of bread they cut your hand off.  If you betrayed the king they left you hanging in the courtyard and allowed the birds to eat you (and if you were lucky you stayed in one piece). Shocking I know…but stay with me.  Since the beginning of time, there have been tragedies and horrific events. However, before “technology” you really didn’t know what was happening in other places.  It wasn’t that horrible things weren’t happening.  Now fast forward a bit (okay fast forward a lot). I remember being a kid and watching the nightly news.  It was an hour of news and that was it.  The news you watched covered world events and things happening in your area.  Unless there was something huge to report you honestly didn’t know what was happening across the country.  Now fast forward to today.  We have news channels that run all day long on a loop. It is a non-stop bombardment of horrific information.  Each program tries to outdo the others with its spin on events.  On top of that, you have social media, which not only bombard you with non-stop information but you also get the added benefit of all those “keyboard” warriors.  It is a constant delivery of horrible news.  Oh, and you no longer need to “turn on” the news!  Now news automatically gets sent to your computer, phone, and even your watch!  It is almost impossible to get away from it!

Yes, some of the things that happen are absolutely heart-breaking.  Other things that happen are absolutely infuriating.  Sometimes you want to crawl in bed and cry your eyes out and other times you want to go out and punch something!  Even worst, sometimes you find yourself thinking…how can I be enjoying my life when this horrific thing just happened?  I get it!  I really do.  However, you have to keep the balance.  You absolutely can’t just sit with your head in the sand and ignore things.  Yet at the same time, you can not allow each and every event to take over your life.  

I have been doing readings for almost three decades now.  Sometimes the things I hear are so absolutely heart-breaking.  There have been many times when a client leaves and I return to my healing room and cry my eyes out.  Sometimes it is all very overwhelming and I am overwhelmed with that feeling of helplessness because I know I can’t do anything to change the horrible thing that person has gone through.  However, at the end of the day, I know that staying in that space will not be helpful to anyone.  So instead I choose to always keep myself in balance.  Here is what I do to keep that balance.  I hope you will find it helpful!

1. First and foremost I ALWAYS honor my feelings!  If I have just heard about a horrific event and it makes me sad or mad, I allow myself to process those feelings.  I cry.  I scream.  However, I do not allow myself to get stuck in those emotions. 
   NOTE:  I never act on those emotions.  I don’t go punch someone cause I am mad. 
2. I always ask myself is this situation something I have control over?  If the answer is no, I can not obsess about it.  Obsessing about it does nothing to help the situation.  In fact, staying in that negative energy will only create other negative experiences around you!  Even worst your negative energy will negatively affect others.
3. I do something positive!  I may not be able to change what happened but I can definitely stop the chain of negativity!  When I feel helpless in a situation I go do something good in my own community.  You can’t control where a hurricane hits but you can go donate food to a local shelter or help raise money for a local charity.  You can’t control the war in another country but you can go donate blood to save a life in your community.  You can’t stop the absolutely horrible things people do to others but you can go help a neighbor!
4. I disconnect from the endless loop of non-stop news!  I got it.  I know what happened.  There is no need for my brain to constantly watch the same thing over and over and over. I make the choice to not put myself in that situation.
5. This one is the most important.  I do not alter my life out of guilt.  I do not stop experiencing the good in my life because something bad has happened.  There will always be bad things happening.  Life is not fair.  I think we can all agree on that!  However, bad things happening is part of our human experience. Sharing the good in your life gives people hope.  It makes others realize that there is good in the world.  Sharing good changes the energy!  Imagine if for just one day everyone only shared the good news!  WOW!  Can you imagine what amazing energy would be around all of us?  I can!

So when you feel like things are out of your control, when you feel overwhelmed, and when you feel hopeless simply remember to find the balance!

Be the change you wish to see in the world!