Acceptance
2012 copyright Janet Hovde
In the last post, I asked you to think about those things that un-ground you. Today, I’d like to explore the things that support your stability. There are ways to care for your energy to maximize your groundedness. Who are the people (or animals) in your life that ground you? What kinds of activities or situations support your grounding? Do you have specific places that ground you?
For me, the people around whom I feel grounded are those with high integrity. Their actions match their words. I don’t have to spend (waste) my energy adjusting to unexpected choices or behaviors. I’m not saying we must never change our mind. I’m saying that I can be thrown off-balance in this situation.
Situations that support my grounding include spending time with colleagues and friends. The more aspects of me they understand, the more grounding it is for me to be with them.
Physical activity is also grounding for me. Placing my feet on the earth grounds me. And one location that I find particularly grounding is Artist’s Point, a park in Grand Marais, Minnesota, where the shore of large flat rock meets Lake Superior. Even imagining myself lying on that sun-warmed rock near the water’s edge calms my energy.
How about you—what do you notice about people, activities, situations and locations which improve your ability to be grounded?
Trees ground me, especially redwoods. Their long life-span I believe makes them peaceful. I have friends and family who ground me. I have a few students who ground me, but most of them are earthquakes. Their energy is so unfocused. Hopefully, they will grow into being grounded. Thanks for your post.
Sheila, Thank you for sharing your grounding experiences. I love the way you use words, no wonder you are a writer!
Janet, I absolutely love how you teach me so much in such a short period of time. This is such a wonderful post.
I feel challenged still about sharing many aspects of myself with a lot of people. I understand now from reading what you wrote the importance of teaching others about ourselves so they can support us better and in return so we can feel more comfortable. I need to do this more.
I feel most grounded out in nature, in the middle of a forest with no one around… or near the ocean, also very grounding for me.
Suzanne, Thank you for being such a receptive learner. Forest & ocean, I agree wholeheartedly!
I’d like to get better about recognizing it and making a shift quicker when it happens. There are definitely people and experiences that un-ground me and ones that really support me feeling more grounded. I’d like to bring more of the latter into my life.
Yes, Michele, me, too (catch & correct ungrounded-ness more quickly)!
There are 3 things I do regularly that help me stay grounded:
1. Every morning I spend 1 hour having a cup of coffee, meditating, being present with the stillness of the morning.
2. Almost daily I exercise. I’ve begun a new routine that’s only 12 minutes and love, love, love it!
3. I drink herbal tea ALL day long. My favorites are “Easy Now.” “Relaxed Mind” and the yogi blends… “Calm” and “Zen.” There’s just something about a warm cup of tea that makes me sink into peace and harmony every time.
Oh, nice, Julie, you have found some very effective ways to keep yourself grounded. I love warm hands around a cup of tea. Thank you for stopping by.