How to Find Balance in Uncertain Times
It’s hard not to notice how polarized the world has become in recent times. Whether it’s politics, the pandemic, being vaccinated versus unvaccinated, beliefs about gender, race -- you name it -- people seem to be taking strong positions on extreme ends of the spectrum these days.
Developing strong opinions on certain matters can be empowering and help us define our values and belief systems. However, taking a rigid stance on every issue that’s brought to our attention can affect our wellbeing on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. Furthermore, it can negatively impact our interpersonal relationships, and adversely affect the way we relate to each other in society as a whole.
As we as a collective continue with our goal of anchoring in more wisdom and expanding our consciousness, one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves as we inter-relate is this: is this approach bridging a gap in understanding, or is it driving us apart?
To even begin to answer this question, it helps to understand the “why” behind this seemingly recent polarization. While there are many contributing factors as to why public opinion and the energy in general seems to be so heated and amplified, I will just focus on a couple. To begin, to put it quite simply: we are living in very uncertain times. The sudden onset of a global pandemic raised a lot of questions that have still yet to be answered. People are not only searching for answers to these questions, but they’re also searching for deeper meaning behind it all. Why did this happen? What could we have done to avoid it? What implications will this have for our personal futures and for future generations? While no definitive answers have risen from all the pondering, a sense of hopelessness and uncertainty has.
As you probably know, humans are not creatures that thrive in uncertainty. We lean toward clarity, decisiveness, action, and above all -- answers. One way to cope with all of this uncertainty is to attempt to come up with answers, even in the face of little to no information to support them. It’s a form of coping, a strategy we use to create a sense of safety when we feel like there’s none. Crafting a strong opinion helps us to feel empowered after uncertainty has left us feeling disempowered. It helps us feel in control when uncertainty has knocked us off our feet and left us to the mercy of The Universe’s will. When we feel we’re standing on the “right” side of things either socially or politically, we also feel absolved of guilt for the ways we may or may not be contributing to unfolding of everything in real time.
Social media only seems to aggravate these large emotional swells, almost egging us on to take a side and craft content around whatever today’s hot button issues are. With 30 second reels that beg for our attention within the first five, subtly often takes a backseat. We often avoid exploring the grey areas of certain topics for fear of the algorhythym’s retribution, but perhaps this is precisely what we need. Instead of catering to the base impulses of a society that is experiencing collective attention deficit disorder, how can we learn to pause, reflect, and consider before sharing our personal soundbite?
Questions we can begin to ask ourselves before we formulate opinions can be: Where am I being too rigid? Where and how can I soften my position if necessary? Is there another angle here I’m not seeing? How can I begin to ask questions with humility? With grace? Awareness? When is the right moment to pause before offering my opinion? How can I examine whether my thoughts are coming from a reactive mental state, versus from my heart, or what my gut firmly knows to be true? How can I express myself with more compassion?
I do not believe we are victims of the 24 hour news cycle, or slaves to any algorithm. I believe we have the power to regulate our nervous systems and make balanced and heart-centered choices that reflect a higher level of consciousness that all of humanity is worthy of experiencing. And there’s no time like the present to make this shift.
