Balance Out Don’t Tune Out
I did that thing I tell myself not to do: I read an email headline too early in the morning.
It was so tempting: Three court justices weigh in on the unconstitutionality of…
Who wouldn’t want to know just a little?
But within moments, I felt the first signs of the jitters, the edges of a fog bank of anxiety rolling in.
Then I remembered the words of the indomitable Wendy MacNaughton, the populist drawing instructor who believes that anyone who wants to can draw:
“Don’t tune out—balance out.”
Part of her strategy for balancing (and it’s hard for her, too) is drawing. She offered her Substack readers a 30-day challenge: draw for just ten minutes a day—with no critique or judgment. It has been hugely fun! And great for resetting an overstressed nervous system.
It’s More Than “Self-Care”
Keeping our nervous systems intact and in balance is more than what’s often referred to as self-care. I don’t like the term—it makes it sound too “spa-day.”
But calming and balancing our nervous system can also be seen as a political act—a step toward social change.
After all, it’s in the interest of our opponents to weaken us—our nervous systems as well as our country—with a constant barrage of incredibly triggering news that throws us off balance.
What if we could emerge from these continual crises more able to cope, more capable of self-regulating, and stronger as a nation?
It sounds like a bit of a pipe dream—but maybe a positive imagination can help counterweight the negative messages we are receiving every day.
Teaming Up: Mind, Body, Heart
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the relationship between the mind, body, and heart (our emotional system) and how they work better when in balance.
Too often, the mind can be like a runaway stallion, gaining power when we believe that whatever it thinks is true.
When I get triggered, my mind takes over, acting like a tyrant who takes my fear and mixes in concepts and negative thoughts that send me toward despair.
Pain is no fun, but it’s the mind that transforms pain into suffering—and who needs that.
Trying to calm an agitated mind, though, with more thoughts doesn’t always work. Occasionally, more information can help—but usually, I need to try something else before I can bring my brainpower back online.
Better to balance the mind with the body’s wisdom—and turn to the senses as a way to steady myself before I resume thinking.
Got Panic? Return to the Senses
Counselors sometimes offer this five-step sensory countdown to anchor and calm those feeling panic:
- Name five things you can see.
- Name four things you can touch.
- Name three things you can hear.
- Name two things you can smell.
- Name one thing you can taste.
That countdown, combined with deep breathing, can bring us back into our bodies and ground us when anxiety has the upper hand. For example, when recent political headlines combined with news about the Washington plane crash sent me plummeting into the “It’s all too much” pile, I knew I needed help. I did the above exercise with a variant: looking for five white things (more focus) and actually touching the four things I named.
I made a small shift, but sometimes small is all we need to be able to take the next step.
Then I went to muck the horses’ stalls. It’s amazing how slow and simple physical actions, done in rhythmic ways, can ground us. Walking attentively in nature has that kind of restorative power.
Find what works for you!
Imagining the Future
I wish that drawing for ten minutes (thank you, Wendy!) or mucking was enough to stay peaceful all day. Instead, I have to drain my brain and recalibrate often—especially when just five minutes of NPR can set off an avalanche of worry. The downhill slide begins as each small worry picks up others—and I start to crash.
Then I have to unplug. Breathe. Remember that I’m a body as well as a mind.
Tuning into my senses and feeling my heart’s wisdom is a practice—and I need to practice a lot.
And practicing is key to creating a future of possibility that goes beyond what the headlines offer us.
We need our senses and our hearts to be our intuitive tracking system that can see into the future in new ways, opening up possibilities long before our minds can understand what’s happening.
Then, blessed with a positive imagination, we can move beyond the grip of despair.
We may feel sadness, yes, and concern for the world, yet we still feel open, attentive, and whole.
When our bodies, hearts, and minds work together, the mind can be a team player—serving our values rather than our worries—helping us find the next specific actions to take.
We can then take those actions from a place of trust and connection.
