Weaving Wisdom and Resilience Out of the Threads of Chaos
Jan 14, 2025I walked in through the kitchen door of the church I currently serve and found our pianist sitting on the counter staring at her phone. She looked up, blew her hair out of her face, and said, "I am so sad for the U.S. right now."
I didn't know what to say, I think, because there was too much to say and it all got clogged in my throat. I mumbled, "Me too," before slinking out of the room and up the stairs to my office to find a distraction from the disappointment, grief, and anger filling my heart. I know I am not alone in feeling this way. The whole world is watching as the U.S. perilously lists like a ship in danger of capsizing.
There is a rage that has overtaken the country. A rage that seems to be angry for the sake of being angry and is finding its targets anywhere and everywhere. The deepening political divide has led to increased stress manifesting in various ways in our individual lives, including constant worry about political outcomes, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, increased irritability or mood swings, social withdrawal or isolation, and physical fatigue. And the more stressed we become the more inclined we are to live into the rage and division and it has started to feel out of control. (New Health Center)
When the world feels chaotic and unpredictable, striving for hope can feel indulgent. But hope is not about comfort; it is a necessity when all feels lost. This is why so many people draw inspiration from people like Nelson Mandela and Viktor Frankl. Their stories help us remember that this too shall pass.
Acknowledging feelings of hopelessness
Paradoxically, our path into hope begins in the most unlikely of places: acknowledging our feelings of hopelessness.
Our instinct is to push through or ignore our feelings of hopelessness, pretending they are not there or having an impact on us. We fill our lives with activity to distract us from what feels out of control. But taking time to name these difficult emotions is the first step in managing them. By acknowledging our feelings of hopelessness we are able to see this is a temporary state, not a permanent condition, and that, at times, it is okay not to be okay. (Psychology Today)
When we are able to accept life as it is, rather than as we wish it to be, we become able to stop fighting against it using the fake friends of denial, procrastination, or the endless doom scroll. This acceptance doesn't mean we like what is happening, but it allows us to work with what we have and potentially change our circumstances or responses.
Coming to terms with life as it is can be challenging. For many people, this seemingly simply task is the entirety of their spiritual journey. But we can begin with a small first step: The Sacred Pause.
The Sacred Pause
Tara Brach offers the "Sacred Pause" as a structured way to step back, momentarily, from life's constant flow. The Sacred Pause becomes a container where we can notice our inner experiences and feelings, allowing us to disengage from habitual reactions. This deliberate act of stopping amid life's busyness enables us to respond to challenges in new, healthier ways. (Tara Brach)
The Sacred Pause is particularly crucial during intense emotional moments, fostering a deeper connection with oneself. By implementing this practice regularly, we can cultivate a more mindful approach to life, enhancing our ability to accept reality as it is and gain deeper insights into our thoughts and behaviors. The Sacred Pause diffuses some of the radicalizing anxious energy and gives us the space to have perspective.
At this point, we might also consider bringing what we learn about these feelings out of our bodies and sharing with people—people who are willing to listen without reactivity. One of the impacts of chaos and anxiety is social isolation, as we retreat further and further into ourselves where the anxiety can have more power over our thinking. Opening up to trusted and supportive people breaks the isolation that anxiety and powerlessness thrive on.
Mindful media consumption
While it is essential for us to stay informed, the 24-hour news cycle and social media are not helping us because these media platforms are designed to keep us hooked through our stress responses. But together, we can be more intentional about this..
Maintaining rational thinking in our information-saturated age can be challenging. The constant barrage of data, opinions, and "expert" advice can lead to cognitive overload and magical thinking. To navigate this landscape, we must develop strategies for critical awareness. This includes recognizing our own cognitive biases, questioning the idealization of public figures, and being wary of thought-terminating clichés that oversimplify complex issues.
By cultivating critical awareness, we can better discern valuable information from noise, make more informed decisions, and maintain a grounded perspective in an increasingly chaotic information environment.
Like many of us, I've found myself caught in cycles of anxiety scrolling through inflammatory headlines and sensationalist content. Seeking out balanced reporting from reliable sources has helped, though it's still a daily practice to resist the pull of outrage-driven content. What matters is staying informed enough to engage with issues we care about, while protecting our collective wellbeing. None of us can do this alone - we need to support each other in finding this balance, sharing what works, and being gentle with ourselves when we struggle. After all, maintaining perspective in today's media landscape isn't just an individual challenge—it's something we are navigating collectively.
You can't pour from an empty cup
Sowing chaos has become a strategy for disempowering the population—and looting the nation. More than ever, we need people who are willing to cultivate the spiritual and psychological skills that will help us turn turbulent times into opportunities for profound awakening by weaving wisdom and resilience out of the threads of chaos.
Chaos is able to thrive in an environment of unabated corporate media, manufactured anxiety, and social isolation. Wisdom and resilience aren't luxuries—they are life-giving. And prioritizing your well-being isn't selfish; it's essential for long-term impact in the face of political stress.
There is an old saying that goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. The world needs stories of wisdom and resilience and I would like to believe the reason you are reading this letter is because you are or want to be one of these storytellers. These are challenging times and people need help finding hope. But we can’t give away something we don’t have. We need to make sure we are filling our cup by cultivating hope so we can pour it into those who need it.
Perhaps together we can practice:
- The sacred pause—giving us the distance we need to understand our feelings of anxiety.
- Sharing our story—breaking down the isolation that allows our anxiety to blossom and showing us we are not alone.
- Mindful media consumption—reducing the control corporate media has over our emotional state and cultivating critical awareness.
People need stories of hope, wisdom, and resilience. Some of these stories are ours to tell.
CLICK HERE and share your best tip for how you are managing the stress and anxiety of political unrest in the U.S. right now.