Let the dust settle to see through the storm

How often do you feel that everything is hitting you at once -- too much is happening too fast? When this scenario occurs, what do you do? Unless you're grounded in ways to handle overload, you usually feel overwhelmed and try to figure everything out immediately, right? Then your mind starts to swirl, you become nervous, and you can't solve anything. There's too much dust for you to see what's ahead.

You must allow the dust, water and debris to settle before you can see through any storm. Once everything ceases, you're able to assess the damage, see what's around you and begin the cleanup process. But trying to make sense out of any chaos, in the middle of it, is impossible. Your visibility is poor and you're unable to see clearly. Take a step back and silently observe the situation.

When you sense you're overcome with more than you can deal with, calm yourself and try to solve one thing at a time. Then put it aside and work on the next issue. You will eventually catch up. The dust will have settled and you can see in front of you again.

When you incur a problem, try to keep from making it bigger than it is. It's what's in your mind that makes it seem larger than life. You give it the power either to ruin your life or trigger you toward growth. Sri Vishwanath, in his book "Feeling Great by Choice," says, "Problems are problems. What is going on in your mind is what determines the complexity of the issue. Clear up your mind. Let it soar. Let the dust of the problems not touch it." The author says that we can't always make the problem go away or solve it, but we can divert ourselves.

Have you noticed when you're unduly upset, if you put your mind on something else, the problem becomes more manageable or disappears altogether? When we can't resolve a problem, it seems more real. We, then, become frustrated because we can't solve it, which causes more grief.

Most of us allow another person, or persons, to make us miserable. Sri Vishwanath said, "No event or person is so important that you should allow him to disturb your peace of mind."

I have, for sure, let others disturb my peace many times. However, now, when I find myself feeling down or out of sorts because of someone else's opinion or actions, I try to remember that statement. One never knows what is causing meanness from another person. He could be in a bad mood, jealous or very sad.

You can't allow anyone to influence your self-esteem negatively. Let the dust settle and reason the offense out. Do what you can to fix it, if you're the cause, and then dismiss the incident. Don't waste your energy. Raise yourself above your hurt feelings or anger and move on. Washington Irving says, "When anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it."

Jesus is the prime example of someone who handled all kinds of humiliations and cruelty. He walked on and disregarded the undesirable actions against Him. If you divert your mind from what's happened to you, what you're behind with, or what may occur in the future, most of what you're concerned about will disappear. Always think a better thought -- a thought toward happiness. Happiness is not an end in itself or a climax, but it is a prompter. The desire to experience happiness is a great antidote against worry.

If you're looking forward to a vacation, you've received a coveted compliment or attained something you've been wanting, have you noticed how little negativity bothers you?

Indeed, take time to evaluate what happens and think it through before you react. Let the dust settle and then recognize the true measure of the storm. Was it genuine or was it mainly "in your mind?"

Ellen Shuck holds degrees in psychology, religious education and spiritual direction and provides spiritual direction to people at her office.