Riding the highs and lows

“Allow for a quiet moment, and remind yourself why it will be alright.”

Tough stretch?

I could give you some practical tips that might help you feel better. But no.

You’re really in it this time. Nothing going on. Nothing to look forward to. Sure there are ways to be productive and force yourself out of paralyzing depression. But that’s just it. You know this, and yet you still choose to do nothing and sulk. Because well… fuck it.

So my advice is to continue doing nothing. Ride it out. Sit in the stink. Stir your own stew. Endure.

In this state you can become a passive observer. Thoughts and feelings will come and go around how you got here, what you need to do to get out, whether or not you can. Let them. Don’t fixate or spiral, but do pay attention and take note.

Also note that you have been here before and that you have come out the other end better for it. Also know that you will eventually take action and climb out. Not now. Perhaps tomorrow or the next day. You will. You’ll learn something new about yourself and your process, and you’ll make an adjustment that may work until the next time you hit a spell. Rinse and repeat.

By the way, the same goes for trips on the other end of the spectrum, when you’re jacked up on dopamine and riding the highs of extreme elation. Not much to do there either, and it also won’t last. Still, you can sit in the joy - observe it, feel it until the great, inevitable crash.

No sense in trying to avoid highs or lows, or in trying to prolong the highs and shorten the duration of the lows. Over time, you’ll want to just work on making trips to each end less extreme. No spikes of tidal waves and the fallout from them. Just mellow waves up and down that you can balance on top of like a surfer dude.

This is a lifelong balancing act. You’ll get better and better at managing the highs and lows that come with this experience.

So next time you’re feeling down - good. Soak it in. Ride the wave. Work on becoming a cool surfer dude.

It’s going to be fine.

Love to all -

---

Related Poetry

Trying to turn things around

From Fire & Earth: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 9/4/2019

When your dreams are chasing you
And luck says, “Break a leg.”
So you literally do

When you’re what alot is going through
And your wish to stop wishing
Doesn’t come true

When even the grays are feeling blue
And it feels like time flies,
Only after it flew

When you’re the shit that it happens to
And what you’ve always thought
You never quite knew

---

Subscribe for the occasional “Huh. I never thought of it like that before.”

One short note every week or two. No pressure. No noise. Unsubscribe anytime.

The art of balancing

Balance. At the equilibrium of your experience, there exists the perfect mix of elements - the concoction of your optimal self.

The elements are derived from different areas of life that make up who you are (what you’re made of). Relationships, community, health, work, passions, time spent - the mix evolves over time, and you’re in charge of managing it.

If you focus too much on any one area, you become off-balance with one or more of the others and thus are not at your equilibrium. And it doesn’t feel right. And you know it doesn’t.

That equilibrium is a moving target. You may feel perfectly balanced one moment - for just a moment - only for the wind to change and have you lose it again. It becomes a difficult, elegant dance that you need to try and learn the steps to.

That said, it’s not so bad to be off-balance from time-to-time, and to learn the process for regaining your footing. It’s good practice, along with “tuning your radio” like we talked about last time.

Just don’t tip to far in any one direction. Always be listening, become a fluid dancer. Be ready to improvise.

You’ll start to feel like you’re in that equilibrium pocket more and more often. Things will make more sense. Your relationships will improve. You’ll feel healthier. Your time will be well spent. You will learn to love the art of balancing more than the feeling of being balanced. That’s what it’s all about.

---

Related Poetry

Balance

From Air & Water: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 7/8/2018

Back and forth along the keel
Stacking up chips,
Selling them for cash
An equipoise, this act
A dance against stillness
All for the chance of it

---

State

From Air & Water: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 7/22/2018

Rhythmic seasons
A gentle fall
Into sure carriage
Light patterns
Well-nigh rest
A balance in being
My stead

---

One short note every week or two. No pressure. No noise. Unsubscribe anytime.