Stressing Over the News
I was sitting at my desk one day last week, waiting for an online meeting to start, when I stumbled across a disturbing news article, which is a very common event these days. I began to feel as though I was going to start having a panic attack. My heart was racing, my shoulders began to tense up and I felt as though I couldn’t catch my breath. I was so frustrated with what I had read.
I had to pull myself together and I had to do it quickly as my meeting was going to start right away and it was on a topic that I was eager to learn about.
I looked down at my desk and there it was, a bottle of Peppermint Halo. I had recalled something a friend had told me. So I put two drops in my hands and rubbed them together vigorously to warm it up, then held them up near my face. I closed my eyes and began to slowly and deeply inhale the cool minty air.
The noise around me began to quiet, the birds started to chirp, my heart slowed, my shoulders loosened, my breathing calmed, and I relaxed.
You know, a few years ago, I would not have been able to calm myself like that. In fact I would have allowed myself to let my whole day be ruined by what I had read in one article. And I also would’ve shared that anger and frustration with everyone around me. And that really isn’t fair.
Am I still bothered by what I read? You bet! But I now realize that can’t control what is happening, so I guess the best thing that I can do for myself is to just let it go. I don’t want to spend the rest of what I have left of my life miserable and upset. I want to be happy. Because you know what? I am Millixi, and this is me.
