Love is easy…. When things are positive…When things are going well…When we are motivated to love…When we are in a state of ease…When we are feeling good, it is easy to make the loving and kind choices. When things are working well, it is an opportune time to practice bringing more love, kindness and compassion into our lives and out into our world.

Love can be hard sometimes… It can be hard to stay in a loving state when stressful things happen.  Let’s face it, stress can show up in our lives on a daily basis. It can adversely impact our health, our relationships and more. We might as well have some strategies to support us to manage the stress in our lives.

How do we stay loving, kind and compassionate when things get hard? When fear rears its ugly head? When stress happens?  When the challenges keep coming? When misunderstandings occur?  When boundaries get crossed? When the shit hits the fan?

I think the answers to these questions differ for each of us.  And each of the above situations probably requires its own strategy.  We are all unique. Managing stress, emotions and mindset is a very personal thing. What works for me, may not work for you and vice versa.  It is all about figuring out what is going to support you to move toward love and away from fear.  And it is a practice; the more we practice the better we get.

 

Awareness.  The first step is always awareness.  Awareness leads to freedom.

Some questions to help with awareness: What am I feeling? What am I afraid of? How do I want to feel?  What am I thinking?  Is this about me or am I being triggered by something else?  How can I bring more kindness and compassion to this situation?  How can I be more loving to all involved, including myself?

Accept what is.  Whatever it is, acknowledge it. And accept the current state.  Know that the only thing you have control over is your response. I find it helpful at times to remind myself that things change all the time and the more I can roll with change, the better.

Breathe.  There is oodles of science out there that shows that conscious breathing helps bring us into resonance with ourselves and our environment.  Check out Heartmath if you want to know more about resonance and how to get it.

Connect with something bigger than yourself.  If you don’t consider yourself religious or spiritual, go connect with an ocean, mountain or the sky. Personally, connecting with God is the equivalent of connecting with love. Saying a prayer is a quick way for me to return to love. Awareness is the key to getting me there.  There are things bigger than us that can offer support, especially things in nature. Find the support that works for you.

Exercise.  Go for a walk. Sweat if you can.  Again, lots of research supports that our brain changes when we exercise.

Water  Drink it.  Immerse yourself in it.  Take a bath or a shower and intend for all energies that are not yours to leave through the drain.

Practice basic energy tools.  Breathing, Grounding, Getting present, connecting with your higher self all will help you to master your own energy. My ebook is currently offered as a gift to this community, The Gently Moving Forward Guide to Inner Wisdom shares information and guided meditations that further explores this stuff.

                                  You can pick up your free copy here.

All of the above suggestions may be able to help you to navigate stress and begin to bring more kindness and compassion into our lives during the challenging times.  It is all about creating strategies that work for you.  Take what works and leave the rest.

In every moment, we have the opportunity to choose love over fear.  Let’s choose wisely.

Sending y’all big blessings of love,