My latest Substack is a recording from a walk this afternoon that I hope is helpful. I refer towards the end to a WhatsApp message making its present heard, and only afterwards did I realise the ding hadn’t been recorded!! Well, I’m not going to record the whole thing again, not least because there’s some rather lovely bird sound in the background. The point is valid - even when interruptions pop up, we can still attend to self care. Okay, here’s the transcript of the recording…
It’s the 29th of October and as I set off for my little walk this afternoon (and the first when I’ve tried recording something for quite some time) the sun is warm, maybe even hot, and the temperature is around 16 degrees. Lovely.
Though I remind you that it’s the 29th of October, and it ain’t supposed to be like this. So my theme just for a few moments today is anxiety again, and the anxiety I notice as I consider the world we’re now living in, and this particular example of the climate changing, potentially catastrophically. The El Nino weather event is coming over along with the damage it’s causing to so many people. I’m relatively sheltered here, and I guess many of you listening to this are relatively sheltered, but it’s big stuff that’s coming in and that’s not the half of it.
Dear old Rory Stewart on the Rest is Politics has just done a series on existential threats. And top of the list is nuclear war. Closely followed by potential catastrophic plague possibly generated by AI. So fun it isn’t. So how do I cope with this? I’d just like to share a little something that might be helpful for you.
When I was younger, I did my bit to try and make things better. Now I’m older, I’m a bit too late for that. But what I can do, and what you can do, is do my best to take care of myself.
I don’t say that in a selfish way, I say that in a compassionate way because, if I can continue to take care of myself, that leaves me in a much better position to cope with everything, and also to do my bit in looking after others. So there’s something about self care, self compassion
Please don’t give up on that, especially if you’re feeling anxiety, and give yourself what you need. Give yourself supportive phrases, supportive activities, do some things that are a bit of fun to relax, to take it easy, to go for that walk like I’m doing now - whatever it might be for you, take care of yourself.
Remember that there’s something in this too about there being so little that any one of us can change. Our influence over things is very little and, what Buddhism teaches us and mindful self-compassion teaches us, is the more we struggle to try and make things better, the more suffering we’re going to have. It’s a real tricky one this because it feels like giving up.
But it’s not it’s not giving up, it’s actually saying things are happening that I can’t control, so what I’m going to do is take care of myself, and take care of those around me. I’ll do what I can and will tend to I want to call my inner being, what Sez Kristiansen would call presence, living from my body, living from my heart. That way, I’m not getting so caught up with the worrying that my mind is doing.
Just for a moment, inviting you - and I’m going to do it too right now and stop walking for a moment and put my hand on my heart space - inviting you for a few moments to pop your hand on your heart space. Whatever you’re doing, can you just maybe stop for a few moments and pause. I’m looking across to Chalkney Wood where I love walking, and where I’m heading now. Wherever you are now maybe you could look around you out the window, at the room, and take a moment and see if you can, with that hand on your heart, give yourself some comfort. Stuff will go on, like that WhatsApp message dinging in, and bring yourself back to the heart space, giving yourself some comfort and taking care and taking stock. I believe this is how it will come clearer to each of us how we play our part over the next little while. So give yourself that compassion.
Much love from me, thank you for listening and, well, I’ll do another post, hopefully before too long. Take care everyone.
