Overwhelm Series - Part 2
On the morning the first Overwhelm post was published here, Renee Macklin Good was still alive.
There are so many reasons for overwhelm in our communities here in Minnesota and across the U.S. It can be very difficult to find ways to navigate overwhelm when it is massive - in the wake of a senseless murder, or in the midst of civil unrest.
But the alternative to finding a way to navigate overwhelm is to stay in the depths of overwhelm…and maybe drown….so navigate we must!
Today we’ll focus on sharpening the skill of zooming out as one part of navigating pain, anguish, and overwhelm - while still living a life worth living.
In the previous post, I mentioned the idea of zooming in from the view of a wide-open prairie all the way to a tight, close view of one single flower petal. That doesn’t sound so bad, since lots of us love flowers. But… what if the camera instead zoomed in on a single black widow spider? A little different! Can you feel a little bit of fear as you imagine that?
Now imagine that while all you can see is a black widow spider, you’re hearing a message playing in the background: “Black widow spiders are everywhere! We all need to be on guard and know how to protect ourselves against black widow spiders! Black widow spiders are terribly deadly, and most people don’t realize how common they are…..”
Overwhelmed yet??
The elements contributing to overwhelm here include:
To feel more balanced and nimble, and to be ready to act in ways that help serve us and others well,we need to respond to the three concerns above - (1) risk, (2) urgency and (3) intensity. We do this by naming our own capacity to act with compassion on our behalf, which can sound like this:
I know it’s true that there are black widow spiders, and I’ve heard they can be dangerous, and also, I’ve lived for decades without encountering one close-up.
I can feel how scary it can be when I think about getting bitten by a black widow spider, but that’s my body feeling a fear response, not a prediction that I will get bitten. In reality, I have never been bitten by one.
Usually, I take steps to move away from spiders or move them away from me, so I think I do what I can to keep myself safe from black widow spiders.
From this zoomed-out, more balanced place, it’s possible to see what we believe, what we are capable of, and how we can take care of ourselves.
Zooming out widens our perspective and helps us remember that no one thing we’re experiencing is everything there is to life, and every experience is temporary.
