Radiant Health Blessing, Detail
Copyright 2014 by Janet Hovde
I am skilled at “making mountains out of molehills.” It is the reverse with which I have needed practice. I know many of you who read this are gifted with extra emotional sensitivity. (I also know it doesn’t always feel like a gift.) So I thought I would share (again) one of my favorite tools for shrinking my seemingly big problems.
Example: if putting away the clean dishes reminds me of something sad, and I start to feel really sad, it may be that I am tapping into collective sadness, or the sadness of many, many people. When I experience feelings disproportionately intense to the situation, often it is because I am sensing others’ emotions in addition to my own. My solution: I identify what is “mine,” so I can take appropriate steps to address it. And I say a prayer, asking for all those with similar discomfort, that they might be able to receive what they need in this moment. I have found this prayer to turn my mountains back into molehills. And then, when I can, I take a nap! Napping also is an excellent tool for swapping out mountains for molehills.
How about you? Do you sometimes feel the “weight of the world?” And if you do, what helps you? Share if you like.
Yesterday my husband yelled at me….I made a comment about his driving too fast and he just exploded. It is not uncommon for him to do that from time to time and usually I can let it go….but yesterday it was like my whole world crushed in on me. I never really thought about the fact that I could be ‘picking up’ others’ emotions of anger and sadness. It was very difficult for me to function….finally I curled up in bed with a good book. By the end of the book, I felt so much better…more like ‘myself’. Reading quieted my mind and allowed me to let go……
Writing helps me, and getting busy in a creative way. Reading helps, too, but it has to be something really interesting that engages my imagination. Once my mind is engaged elsewhere, there’s no brain power left for mountains.