In our increasingly connected world, is it not ironical that we may feel more dissonance than ever before in our life time?

We are bombarded daily with news about the atrocities and horrors that occur both near and far. We no longer need to turn on the news or read newspapers. It is plastered across social media. We cannot escape it.

From natural disasters to acts of violence, the world can sometimes feel like a constant barrage of distressing events and heinous acts to each other. While I feel it is important to acknowledge these horrors, we must not bury our head fully, as I have a personal believe that:

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” Elie Wiesel.

It is at these times even more important to find a balance between staying informed and protecting our emotional well-being, as this affects our physical and mental well being.

What is that balance though?
Where is the love, the peace, the harmony?

It is not about sticking our head in the sand. Although if you are feeling overwhelmed, then this is a short term coping mechanism. However, long term, suppressing and ignoring our emotions simply leads to physical and behavioural expressions of dis-ease.

Therefore more and more it’s a necessity to bring in compassion and self-care as part of our daily practice.

How to find that inner harmony within? To find the love, the peace, the soul-utions?

“One breath, one step is all we need to feel at home in the here and the now. When we can come back to ourselves like this and take refuge in our inner island, we become a home for ourselves and we become a refuge for others at the same time.” Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth.

Compassion is the ability to empathise with the suffering of others and take action to alleviate it. It is a beautiful and essential human quality that allows us to connect with others and make a positive impact on the world. However, compassion does not necessarily require us to be emotionally distraught or overwhelmed by the horrors we witness. It is about acknowledging these events, understanding their impact, and responding with kindness and understanding.

Easier said than done!

Personally when I started my tapping journey, the visceral emotional charges of watching any demonstrations were distressing, AND still now I feel emotions at the injustice of suffering around the globe.

Digging deep and literally tapping into those moments of rage, sadness, grief, disgust, and sitting with these emotions and opening a dialogue with them helps, each part of us needs that validation and acknowledgement.

Let’s not forget that when we hear about or witness disturbing events, our natural inclination is to feel empathy for those affected. Empathy allows us to mentally put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and understand their emotions and experiences. It helps us connect with others on a deeper level and motivates us to take action. However, it is crucial to recognise that empathy does not mean we have to carry the emotional burden of these horrors ourselves.

Therefore, again, it is critical to find that emotional balance as constantly dwelling on distressing news can lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout.

Tara Brach says “When we trust that we are the ocean, we are not afraid of the waves. The deepest transformations in our lives come down to something very simple: We learn to respond, not react, to what is going on inside us”.

Learning who we are can help us understand our own themes, triggers and shadow selves, bringing in that compassion for self. After all, perhaps loving ourselves is simply understanding our own needs, self care and boundaries (more about boundaries in my next blog).

We simply cannot control others in this world.

I created a wee exercise for you, nothing new, simply my version of a Venn diagram (you can tell I am visual). This is an invitation to draw these circles for yourself as a gentle reminder. Observe your responses and reactions as you write. This photo shows an example of what mind is: