One Minute of Joy on How to Remain Calm and Keep Remaining Calm

"If the ocean can calm itself, so can you.

We are both salt and water 

mixed with air."

~Nayyirah Waheed

There are times in our lives when we can feel like we are shaking from the outside in.

I know that I go through moments when a sense of calm is elusive as a rainbow after a shower. I considered this week that I have had a lot of practice in finding ways to calm myself and remain calm. I guess I am one of those people that feel my ability to demonstrate calm will somehow help all the humans around me. Maybe it's because I'm tall? I don't know. 

So here are some things I've found useful.

I came up with a list of stuff that seem to help me, in the worst and most soul shaking times. I try one or two, and let me know if you have some to add to my list:

Meditate
Simple meditation lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, and improves ability to concentrate. The best part is that you don’t have to dedicate a lot of time to meditation. You can get the benefits in just a few minutes a day.

Breathe Deeply
There are moments where your frustration, anger, or anxiety will spike to overwhelming levels. When you feel those physical signs, breathing deeply is your best friend. It forces you to pause and calm down so you can better deal with whatever is happening.

Reach Out
Leaning on the people in your support system is an effective way to reduce stress. We all need to vent, to hear a friendly voice, or to be distracted from our worries by someone else’s story.

Exercise
Getting up and moving is a great way to burn off stress and improves overall health. Even a 5-minute slow walk will do wonders.

Laugh
It is the best medicine. Here's a good video that I often watch when I need a chuckle: Dog and bacon

Listen to music
Music has an amazing effect on the human body. Music boosts mood and lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety, and more.

Be grateful
I know I sound especially corny, but being grateful does reduce stress. Studies show that practicing gratitude can make you happier, lower stress, protect you from depression, improve sleep, and boost your immune system.

Accept your limits on control
No matter how hard you try, you can’t control a great percentage of what faces you.  If negative things happen despite all your efforts, remind yourself that it’s not because you didn’t try hard enough.

Stay positive, no matter what
I heard someone snidely refer to me once as "Happy happy Joy joy." At the time, it sort of hurt, but then I realized that hearing positive, supportive statements in your head is a lot more pleasant and calming than a steady stream of negativity.

Stay off social media
When you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, it's tempting to turn to mindless chatter. But these sites are not like Calgon. They will not 'take you away'. Often, they feed into your anxiety. So unless it's an excellent blog (smile) avoid your news feed and follows. Instead, read a good book, garden, go for a drive, play with the animals at a shelter - do something fun!

Become calm.

Remain calm.

Cheers.