The Paris Attacks – What You CAN Do
Nov, 2015 – It’s been a week since we all watched the heartbreaking footage of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Like you, I was deeply affected. I kept asking myself, “This world is falling to pieces! What can I do to help?!”
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer vastness and variety of trauma going on in the world.
It’s easy to feel impotent, even frozen about what to do or how to affect any change at all about these problems.
And it’s easy to fall down the Mind Loops Hole of Despair — unless we focus our attention on what we CAN do rather than what we CAN’T do.
Two things anyone can do to make the world a better place:
ONE: Small things COUNT.
We may feel like we have to do some BIG IMPORTANT THING to help the world when crises arise. But how do we fit something ‘big and important’ into our life when it already feels like we’re stretched? And what the heck would the ‘big and important’ thing be, anyway?
Here’s a thought: All of us have the power to add sunshine to people’s lives, no matter what scale we work it. A smile to a stranger who looks like they’re having a blue day; helping a neighbor rake leaves; giving a compliment to an exhausted grocery clerk; or leaving a buck on someone’s windshield… It doesn’t take much to lift someone’s spirits up.
Why is this so important? Because more HAPPINESS =
• less conflict
• less greed
• less fear
• a more stable and compassionate world to live in.
TWO: Work on healing your own mind.
Mind Loops are a type of personal terrorism. You may think I’m being overly dramatic. But consider this…
MIND LOOPS…
• cause us to wring our hands in WORRY and FEAR… and sometimes to want to wring the necks of people who trigger us
• talk smack about us ‘behind our backs’ and in our own heads… And we all know it’s a helluva lot harder to love others if we don’t begin with ourselves
• judge and criticize us… And yet the more compassionate we are to ourselves, the more kindness we can give towards people from all backgrounds — however alien their way of life may seem to us
• block us from earning money!… And yet the more we unblock our financial ‘constipation’, the more $$ we can give to any one of the BILLIONS of people who are forgotten, marginalized, or just need a little extra help
• gossip and criticize other people in our heads… And yet the more we take a real look at our own (pre)judgments about other cultures, religions and types of people to see if we actually even agree with our long-held beliefs, the more tolerance we’ll develop
• cause us to (ugh!) hold onto resentments… And yet the more we can let go of resentments,the less opportunity for centuries-old grudges to end up as terrorist attacks.
————————————-
Your Challenge This Week:
1) As you lay in bed at night, replay your day in your head and come up with 5 things you appreciate about yourself from the day.
It can be anything from:
• “I stopped myself from complaining about one co-worker to another”
to
• “I ordered water instead of soda at lunch (so took care of my body)”
to
• “I kept an open mind about my neighbor’s opinion and decided to be just curious – instead of instantly calling them an idiot in my head.”
2) Look for ways to go above and beyond your self no matter how small it seems.
It can be anything from:
• Giving an authentic compliment
to
• Paying for the person’s coffee who’s standing in line behind you
to
• Writing a surprise letter to someone for no other reason than to tell them how much you appreciate them in your life and why.
Then enjoy the feeling these actions give YOU!
Here’s wishing you (and Paris and the world) a week of serenity and appreciation!
Love, Barbara
———————————-
Want To Defeat the Bully In Your Own Head?
Contact me for info on my Mind Loop Mentoring Program:
ph:805.364.4466
And… my new ebook on how to DE-LOOP is coming out soon! More details on the way!
Photo credits: Eiffel Tower by Moyan Brenn via Flickr Commons / Louvre pyramid by Peggy2012CREATIVELENZ via Flickr Commons
HOW TO STOP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS 