I was reminded yesterday of how easy it is to find the bad, wrong and awful things in any given situation and forget to notice the good.
I am sure we have all been there with someone who builds chaos in stressful situations, rather then disperses it. Or have worked with a co-worker whose level of complaining is in direct proportion to the demands of the job? The busier it gets the more negative they become? Talk about draining! I am an ‘internal’ processor so I am quiet as I am thinking….the negative chatter is very distracting for me and something I have to work really hard at filtering out.
We are all being bombarded, on a daily basis, with all that is bad, wrong and awful in this world. I am afraid I have been contributing to that in my attempts to speak out against Trump. I applaud those who are fighting against him and will continue in my own ways to do the same. But here I want to refocus on some of the things in life that bring me peace, joy and insight. I seem to reconnect with the good things in life when out in nature, appreciating beauty, spending quality time with my loved ones, creating art, or being with my animals.
Creative pursuits invigorate me and at the same time tap into a spiritual sense of goodness. In addition to being an artist, mom & Nona, I work in a noisy, stressful environment so to create and spend time in nature is vital to my well being. I like to write here to share those creative pursuits.
I hope also to encourage you to find those activities that bring you joy. I firmly believe we can directly influence our own little bubble of interaction by the way we care for ourselves and treat those around us. I have the opportunity in my work to interact with people under extreme stress. We can’t avoid stress, but we can choose not to bring others down in that stressful moment. I have to consciously work on being focused, calm and non-reactive in those moments so as not to contribute to another’s anxiety. Anxiety is contagious….stress is unavoidable….but anxiety can be conquered. Whenever possible, we can choose to not pass it along but in order to do that, one must learn how to manage it in themselves.
I suffered from debilitating anxiety for years so I get how awful it is. It is suffocating, which may be why nature and animals seem to help. I breathe differently through my body when I am with my horses, or enjoying time outdoors. This change in breathing, in turn, helps to turn off the automatic stress response that builds in one’s body with anxiety. Using breath to relax your mind and body can help you to stay ahead of stressful situations or help to deal with the more clear headed.
Here are some informative links you can try if you are interested in learning more.
https://app.stopbreathethink.org/ a great app!
I recently had a close family member in the hospital….. I packed my art-to-go bag with things to make in the hospital room. 🙂 Being able to work on this made the down time hanging out go by faster and kept my hands busy which is a huge stress reliever for me. Another useful item for tactile, anxiety prone people and kids is this: Crayola Air Dry Clay You can take it out of these packets and just fiddle with it in your hands- or leave it in and press on it that way. It has a nice springy, spongy feel and stays malable for a long time. Does a great job for keeping restless kids occupied.
On my website at http://www.horseartonline.com I will soon have tutorials that members of my site can access. To be a member just subscribe at the bottom of the page. No spam- just art, animals and fun! 🙂
Have a great day!
Sue Steiner
My work tray at the hospital!
Custom Pet Portraits and Horse Paintings
Find me on:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FreeReinArtStudio/ Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/FreeReinArtStudio Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/sue_steiner/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/freereinart/ Twitter https://twitter.com/saveaface Website: https://www.horseartonline.com