THE ART OF BEING.

JUST BE - THAT'S ALL THERE IS PERIOD!

That's all there is to it. Easy but not simple! But how, you ask? How do I just be?

Can you be present? Can you quiet your mind? Can you breathe in and then out? Can you be aware of your thoughts? Can you be mindful of your feelings? Can you stop before you act impulsively?

You can. I know you can. If I can then you can too. A year and a half ago, I had a Bipolar episode. My anxiety was off the charts -I then went into a depression and it spiraled down and I hit bottom, AGAIN. 

I climbed out of the hole eventually. I was fortunate that I have people who care about me. I was trying to be something I was not and when I did not succeed, I got down on myself and it all went to shit. I came off my medication. I could not eat. I could not sleep. I lost thirty pounds. That attack sent my blood sugar soaring. Now, I have that challenge to combat. No worries though. It was the best thing that could happened to me. I got up. I stood up. And, I marched on. ONWARD, INWARD, UPWARD. Each time I fall I rise higher. Why? Because I learn, grow and evolve.

But, enough about me. We all struggle. We all have adversities. Sometimes adversaries. But how we handle it determines the outcome. Know - that all we have control over is our thinking about the situation. We need to not only find the silver lining in the dark storm clouds that present themselves, but we must remember that above the storm, above those dark clouds, the sun is still shining.

That tired old chestnut - "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." That is - if we learn from it, flip the script and leverage it and looked at it as an opportunity. It is all how you frame it.

If we can keep our sense of human and composure when things go south and look for our north star, our first principle, that of reason, logic and virtue, we have a better chance of making it thorough anything that fate may throw at us.

JEFF TURNBULL