I need to see clearly now.

A mental health strategy for uncertain times.  

When I was pregnant with my first child, I horrified my husband by developing a desire to watch “Baby 911” type shows.  During Covid, I switched my fiction reading to medical journal reading.  When times become uncertain, my coping strategy of choice seems to be: stand in one spot and observe, observe, observe.  

These are uncertain times again.  Life right now feels as anxious and persistent as a beeping low battery fire alarm in the middle of the night! I find myself “doom-scrolling” and then wondering if this is healthy. But I think for me, taking an information blackout during this uncertain time would be akin to taking the battery out of the fire alarm. I need to see. 

In the yoga world, the idea of seeing clearly and honestly is called Satya.  It is the practice of standing in the here-and-now and observing.  You observe what is happening in this reality as honestly as you can.  Then you observe your reactions.  What have your thought patterns been since this new reality began? What behavior patterns have you been doing? Where are you feeling this in your body?   

When I was in the uncertainty of my first pregnancy, I did dream about the future.  But I found that dreaming about the bright and rosy future made the uncomfortable reality of being pregnant worse. Doing small things in my present reality - like decorating the nursery and going on long walks - seemed a better coping strategy for me.  

So in these current uncertain times, how can I add some pleasure to my reality instead of trying to wish it away?  Is there a creative endeavor that I can begin and complete right here?  Is there a physical goal that I can begin and actually accomplish in this here-and-now with this body and this amount of time? 

It’s not forever, but this is the way it is right now.

Until next time,

Laura