The Storm you have the power to control

Hey folks!

Sorry, I have not been on much in the last few days - other things going on in my life I have had to take care of.

I wanted to share a story with you that, hopefully, many will find helpful. First though, let me set the scene with a little prose....

The sea of thoughts whirled with ferrocious passion, waves of thought, emotion and feeling crashing against the rocky shore of his mind. In the haze of this fury, it was hard to see clearly, to know which direction was the right one to take. He looked around nervously, wondering which course to chart, as he clung for dear life, his "ship" casting violently in the roiling sea of chaos swirling about him. He recognised nothing in this terrain - his otherwise stable world had been changed, almost without warning, overnight and what lay before him now was a chaotic mix of confusing signals, unfinished thoughts and emotions, past regrets and angers and a shore he could no longer see, as his brave ship did its best to stay afloat in this frantic, unfamiliar and frightening ocean he was trying his best to stay afloat on...

Our thoughts help us or hinder us, as do our emotions and feelings. Without any of them, however, we would not know what it is to be human. Yet, those very same tools can make a heaven or a hell of our circumstances, often without much warning. One moment, we are sailing along in life, on calm seas, with everything stable and certain, not a care in the world. The next, we are thrown off course and into unfamiliar territory and it can feel absolutely terrifying, especially if it is our first time.

Yet we need a degree of uncertainty to keep life interesting, just as we need certainty to make us feel comfortable. We can only appreciate what we have when it is taken away, for that it when we appreciate its true value?

Your thoughts, emotions and feelings can be liked to a storm in your brain when things go badly wrong. Much the same as in the story above, we can feel confused, disoriented, unsure of what to do and terrified because we are in unfamiliar territory. The best captains have the ability to stay calm when all around them is in chaos, They do not let their emotions play boss.

Emotions are bossy beggars too - they always think they know best. But think of them more as a support crew. Your rational thinking is what should be steering your ship. They speak firmly and clearly, but quietly. Emotions, on the other hand, are noisy, chaotic and boisterous, and if you let them, they will drown out the quiet voice of reason.

To find your inner captain Sully (google the movie), take a deeeeeeep breath, and then another. Purposely slow your thinking down. There are few situations where this is not possible - you just need to take that first step. Ask yourself, is this an urgent problem for right now? If so, what is my best course of action. More than likely, it is not - and if the wheels will not fall off your wagon should the worst case scenario occur today (your worries make it seem urgent when it is not, or at least not as urgent as it might seem), then you have some time. When you buy yourself some time, you can feel calmer and more measured. When you are measured, you think more clearly and the mist of chaos stops swirling around you, the seas become a little calmer, the haze of confusion clears and you can see the beginnings of the shoreline again, or at least the best path forward to get there.

I read once that intense negative emotions are nothing but physiological storms in your brain - they are electrical signals going into overdrive. When you look at them in this way, you can take charge and either chart your way around the storm, or hunker down and chart a course through it, while staying in control of what you can control - your boat (you). And remember, no storm lasts forever...the storm always eventually gives way to clear seas once more. Ironically, the sooner we can realise them for what they are, the sooner we see the clear seas, yes?