SPEAK YOUR TRUTH: KEEPING CALM DURING UPHEAVALS AND CHAOS

SPEAK YOUR TRUTH: KEEPING CALM DURING UPHEAVALS AND CHAOS
​ June 3, 2019 by Cynthia D. Griffin

​Most people like a nice quiet kind of life. And probably most people achieve that to one degree or another. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always stay quiet. Every once in a while, a series of events leads life into upheaval and chaos.

A lot of emotions are usually attached to upheaval and chaos when it occurs. Anger. Panic. Sadness. Despair. Frustration. Maybe some of it is bitter sweet. Maybe we know the end results will make things better for us, but impatience plagues us each and every step.

It is so easy to be swept away by the emotional tidal waves that buffet us as we try to move our way through a chaotic time. Sometimes the emotions and events are so abrupt and intense, we are left numb and in shock.

All of these emotions may be valid and deeply felt, but they don’t help us stay calm in a storm. They don’t help us find our center so we can navigate our troubled waters with clarity.

Acting out of impulse is not always a bad thing, but a constant series of reaction instead of calculated action can have serious consequences. It can even make chaotic times in our lives even more so.

Our best course of action sometimes is to do nothing for a time so we can reflect on our emotions and circumstance, and we can make more informed and calm decisions. It is the calm that will bring us out of the chaos quicker and without adding even more challenges to overcome.

Perhaps in the calm, we may even start to see why these “horrible” or “inconvenient” things are happening. Perhaps there’s a bigger picture that can’t be seen when we are consumed by the emotions storming within.

How does one go about finding the calm in stressful or supercharged situations? Perhaps in the moment it’s just not possible. It may even take a few days of fast action to keep on top of things before slowing down for a minute or two is even an option. Or perhaps, the emotions and situation are so intense that finding calm is the last thing on the mind.

Eventually, however, there is a time when things stand still long enough to go more within. To seek out answers on the inside. To ask why is this happening and what am I going to do about it? And in those quiet moments something clinks. Things make a little more sense, and a calm rises up. Because if we are able to find the calm once again on the outside, it must first come from the inside.

Once the calm is found, we can then see the challenges for what they really are. The challenges are in fact changes that we needed to bring new and better into our lives.

We are not meant to live static lives. We cannot stay in one “place” forever. To live our fullest and best life, it means going through the growing pains of change. The more we can embrace the chaos and upheaval as the change happens, the faster we will find our calm and find the way to navigate to stiller waters.

Once there, we will once again find that quiet kind of life in a deeper and more enriching way.
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