Finding piece of mind in an uncertain world

Written by Judy Piatkus

Many years ago I sat alone in a hotel room in a country very far from my home. I was feeling very sad, grieving for the end of an important relationship. I was still fairly young and had not previously suffered such a major loss. A naturally positive person, it was a new and disturbing experience for me.

Later that evening, in a lively bar in the hotel where I was staying, I met up with a client author, a successful businesswoman and also a healer. It was hard to hide my sadness. But that day was to become one I would always remember for the question that this wise lady asked me and which has stood me in good stead all my life. ‘Whenever you feel unhappy,’ she said,

‘ask yourself – what is the one simple thing I can do for myself in this moment to feel better?’.

It was such simple advice and yet it has always been so valuable, and recently has kept me strong and calm throughout the uncertainty of this pandemic.

During the months since Covid-19 arrived in the Western world and changed so much of our daily lives and habits, all of us have been tested with major challenges. People have lost much-loved family and friends; good businesses have been destroyed; loyal, capable employees have found themselves out of work; those on their own have endured huge loneliness and many families have been pushed to breaking point.

“For many of us, caught up in daily uncertainty, peace can be just a step away.”

Each one of us is different and each one of us has had to – and must continue to – find our own way through our troubles. Sometimes we need simply to sit with our sadness for a while, acknowledging it, feeling compassion for ourselves and for others, including for people who we will never meet, knowing what they must be going through.

At other times, we know we don’t want to stay sad but it’s hard to shift our energy. These are the times to ask yourself the question above: ‘what is the one simple thing I can do for myself in this moment to feel better?’

Answers to this question often come easily. Could you improve your living space – make the bed, tidy the kitchen, play some upbeat music? Do you need to turn off the television, switch off the endless bombardment of information and sit in silence or with soothing music for a while? Will your favourite television programme cheer you up? Do you need to move around, to make yourself a cup of tea or simply to sit quietly and focus on your breath? Do you want to call a friend to hear a human voice? Or go for a walk and have a chat with the newsagent or the woman selling takeaway coffee from her usually crowded café? Have you the energy to do something for someone else who is perhaps having a more difficult time than you?

For so many of us, caught up in daily uncertainty, peace and calm can still be just a step away. Practise focusing on your own needs when you feel low. As we become more experienced in calming ourselves during turbulent times, we become aware of and more in control of our emotions. And as we learn to master our emotions, the gift of peace of mind becomes much easier to achieve.