The Age of Overwhelm

I recently attended an event called A Day of Lament which was organized by my daughter Joanna. The afternoon’s activities were designed to help workers who minister to people living on the street to process their grief about events they are exposed to each day. The facilitator for the day, who was very knowledgeable, provided us with a list of books and other resources for further study. One book really stood out to me. It is called The Age of Overwhelm: Strategies for the Long Haul, written by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky. This week I am slowly working my way through the book, and it turns out that many, if not most of us, are living in an ongoing state of overwhelm, due to all the world events we are dealing with and all the social media that we are exposed to, among many other things. The author explains what overwhelm looks like, what is causing it, and then she maps out a strategy for us to handle the situation. She explains how we can learn to metabolize the trauma we are exposed to, how we can recognize and deal with saturation when it occurs, and then gives us chapters on how to be less distracted and more connected, less disconnected and more present, less depleted, while developing more stamina, and less attached, while adopting an attitude of being more curious.

I am finding the book to be really practical and really hopeful. I am going to continue to study it and try to apply it to my life. I can see that it would be really great to get together with others like you to discuss the book and its strategies. At this time of additional stress and worry due to the coronavirus outbreak, it is even more important for us to develop ways that will work for us to handle the world we are in today.

For instance, the author tells us on page 74, that Dr Richard Davidson has discovered there are four independent brain circuits that influence our lasting wellbeing: our ability to maintain positive states or positive emotions, recover from negative states, focus, and be generous.

Being generous… that one really struck me. I have seen in my own life that when I am generous, it does really affect my sense of well-being. Even something as simple as offering a smile to each person I meet when I am out for a walk helps me feel better, and it is lovely to see the people smiling back at me! I have found that even sending a cheque for $5 or $10 to an organization I want to support makes me feel so much better inside. I feel good for simply doing what I can, even if it is just a little bit…. and on it goes.

These days when there is so much to worry about, what would you think about trying to focus on finding a way, at least once a day, to be generous in either thought or action towards someone, and see how it affects your sense of well-being? It is, I think, a win/win situation for both the one we choose to be generous towards, and for ourselves! I am going to set this an intention for myself for the next while, and if you decide to join me in trying out this practice, I’d love to hear how it goes!