It's a little nuts out there right now.

We are all stressed to the max with no relief in sight. Our world has been shaken to its core. Everything is up for grabs.

For me, it's become vitally important to keep the faith, to stay heart-centered with meditation, prayer, family time. If I'm not grounded, I have nothing to offer.

It's way past time to give up fear. For many, it's fear of the virus. For others, it's fear of government.

Both of those may still be dangerous, but entertaining fear -- ANY fear -- will not help us find our way out. In fact, it's the thing that is hurting us most.

Fear is a killer. It drives anger and frustration. It is THE most powerful emotion because fear feels good IMMEDIATELY: you get a rush of adrenaline which releases cortisol which releases blood sugar which turns on that part of your brain that is turned on by cocaine.

If you are afraid, you are operating under the influence of a drug: sugar.

In the short term, this is good: sugar gives you immediate energy to fight or flee. In the long term? Terrible for your body & brain. It's also why cravings return and why people have gained weight. FEAR IS FATTENING.

If you are afraid, you are biologically unable to be in charge of your thoughts or your actions other than fight or flee. Fear drives mob rule. The "feel good" is what makes people do things in a mob mentality they might otherwise not do.

Fear makes us fight. Clearly, fighting over masks gets us nowhere. Ditto fighting over BLM, racism, the virus, climate.

Fear keeps us divided and distracted. Nothing good comes from it for you and I.

It's time for all of us to do 2 things:

1. return to core values. What is most important to you? Can you release the fear so you can operate from those core values? Releasing fear requires faith, either in a loving God or Higher Power, in your fellow humans, in your community, in the remarkable universe... Now is the time to find SOMETHING to keep you centered because faith is the only thing that conquers fear. Then PRACTICE that faith every day: a short prayer, a meditation, a few moments of silence,  a quick gratitude list. Fear cannot exist in the presence of faith.

2. think critically, separate fact from fiction. The time has passed for believing everything the media and politicians tell us -- people who we KNOW are inherently untrustworthy because of their corporate sponsors. Simply verify your facts. You will have to look outside your usual sources who believe exactly the way you do, then verify THOSE facts. Critical thinking requires looking at all sides, then making decisions based on facts, not emotions, not what the mob thinks.

My 2¢. xoxo 

PS. Because FB has banned my posts & put me in FB jail, I can no longer share anything un-PC there. I value my community there and don't want to lose my account. I lost it a few years ago for the same reason and had to start over. If you want to discuss anything outside the box, follow me on MeWe or subscribe to my blog.