Life is extremely unpredictable and ever-changing. No amount of preparation and planning can prevent the inexplicable happenings that occur everyone. This sobering fact is a headache of a nightmare for most people, especially those, who like me, are compulsive planners and organizers. The unforeseeable path of the future is daunting and dubious, to say the least. While it's often easy to cave by feeding into the anxiety of your stressors, this behavior tends lead to a pattern of poor coping.
I'm fully aware that everyone is different, and I will never be able to understand the struggles other's meet on a daily basis. Instead, I can only approach life from the singular experiences I've accumulated. Coming from an overly anxious person, I've found various ways to step back from reality in hopes of bettering my mind and approach to situations. Simply stated, I fully believe that adding certain activities to your daily/weekly routine can help to humble and de-stress your mind after an emotionally or physically taxing week.
I feel like the activities that humble you the most are those that really help to put your stressors into perspective, while also helping to broaden your mind. Simple as it seems, but just watching the sunset and looking up at the stars allows for so much perspective. Not only is the beauty of the sunset and the night sky creatively awakening, but they're both great at widening the perspective of your individual world. You're reminded of your sheer insignificance to the grand scheme of not only the human race, but the universe. That insignificance is so liberating.
I also love cooking. Cooking is such a relaxing and creative activity for me. If I go days without cooking something for myself I feel like I'm going crazy. Cooking allows for me to just escape from my thoughts and focus on the task in front of me, while also allowing me to create something great. When I'm feeling super tired and stressed I love cooking meals that remind me of my family and childhood.
Lastly, and seemingly most important to me, I believe in the practice of mediation. Whether you practice mindfulness meditation or meditative prayer, there is so much to gain from meditating. I like to practice mindfulness in meditation and also do it along with yoga. I know meditation has so many negative social connotations, it is so basic and human. For me, meditation is about separating my mind from the physical reality. I move beyond my ego and my issues to relax and gain clarity. I think meditation has so many mental health benefits, especially for those struggling with depression and anxiety.
I guess if there is an overarching point to this piece, it would be that everyone has days, weeks, or months where things just don't seem to being going easy or "right." While it's unfortunate, it happens to all of us at one point or another. Feeding into the negativity and stress of these situations does so much harm. While it's not always easy, there are other methods for coping. I think it's important to find activities that inspire creativity, and help to humble the ego. And if you're blessed with a life with very few stressors, I think it's still important to practice such activites. Life should be an experience of learning, and what better way to learn about the world than lessening the ego in hopes of better relating to those around you.
