How do you want to show up today?

You get to choose.

Are you nursing a news hangover?  Are you feeling the grief and pain from watching the train wreck of a dumpster fire that is unfolding in our nation’s capital? Most of us are helpless to fix the situation in DC right now. But we do have some agency over how we want to show up in our little corner of the planet. Four years ago, when the election results did not turn out how I wanted them to, this question came to me. How do I want to show up? I could be angry, bitter, and resentful. Or I could be calm, grounded and loving. That question always helps me stay anchored in the Spirit and shows me that I have power in a situation that might feel hopeless.

You have a choice.  That is itself empowering. 

However you choose to show up, the first step you might want to take is to practice self-compassion.  Be gentle with yourself. What does your body need? A nap? Some milk and cookies? A walk in the woods? What does your soul need?

• Solitude? Turn off the news and put down your phone.

• Beauty? Find one thing (or create something) that is beautiful to you and gaze on it, maybe light a candle and play some calming music (ok, you might have to pick up your phone for this).

• Connection? Reach out to someone just to know that you are not alone. Maybe not to rant, but to speak of other things, to know that life does continue outside the Capital Beltway. 

• Speaking of connection, God is up all night waiting for you to lay all this at her feet. Address God and write it all out, everything you are feeling – hold nothing back.  And then ask God to show you what to do with all this. Ask God for exactly what you need. This is a very powerful action to take: Naming what you need brings clarity. And the act of vomiting out all of your feelings onto paper is cathartic and serves as a release of all the emotion. Better out than in!

So how do you want to show up today?What one small step can you take right now to move in that direction?Holding the Christ light for you in the darkness.Let me know in the comments what action you will take today to practice self-compassion.