Melting Monkey Madness
How to Overcome Overwhelm and Connect to Your Source of Support
It’s Flourishing Friday. You want to show up fully for your heart’s desire, AND your people. That’s when the Monkeys of overwhelm can steal your joy. Today’s 5-minute creative practice (jump below) grounds you in the present moment, to connect with what matters most.
Happy Solstice! Does your body feel the pull to hibernate and rest? Yet your Heart wants to celebrate, be with others? How do you handle a beautifully overfull time?
I chronically do too much. Squeeze every last drop of juice out of life itself. In the Holiday home stretch, I fall into bed well past midnight after reveling at two Solstice ritual gatherings. Tonight, thirty friends arrive at our small seaside cottage for dinner.
Yikes. Mr. Overwhelmed Monkey says,
Where’s everybody gonna sit? I bet we don’t have enough chairs, enough food. Where you gonna put the drinks? All these craft supplies everywhere! You’re not even done gluing all those gifts. Gotta write those deep, meaningful cards! But when?
My Heart says: Self-care, darlin’. Take a walk, take a breath. Ahhhh…
Which helps. Still, as time and daylight run short, I’m effing overwhelmed. I get tight shoulders. I get testy. With no time for transitions, I’m perpetually late. If I drop my keys or misplace my sweater, let’s add the dread of disappointing others (people-pleaser Monkey in the house)!
I made this mischief all by myself! Do you know the feeling? A victim of your own choices (a side effect of privilege)?
My Soul knows: All is Well. All manner of things will be Well.
It's time to call on another source of support. One that isn’t doing One More Thing. Or kvetching to my sweetheart. He’s sick of dealing with my annual holiday overwhelm (I swear, NEXT YEAR I will stop this holiday madness. Or leave the country).
5-minute body practice: Grounding Feet
May this chi-gong movement connect you to your source of support: the Earth. Follow along in this video featuring my ridiculous alter ego, Queen Poopicina, sharing the ‘Holy Sh*t’ version with a spontaneous Gospel-style song. Or read the steps below.
Grounding Feet: How can I feel more supported?
STAND up, without shoes, if you can (it’s ok to sit).
BREATHE deep. Place your feet hip distance apart. Put all your weight on your left foot.
PRESS slightly into the ground. Notice the force of gravity pulling you down. IMAGINE you are connecting to the Earth’s core.
SHIFT your weight slowly to the other foot. IMAGINE water flowing from one side to the other, gradually shifting your balance.
REPEAT from side to side, in a natural rhythm.
NOTICE and appreciate: “My body feels...”
FOR MORE CLEARING, IMAGINE sending all your discombobulation, frustration, etc. down into the Earth. She can take it all.
Make it Real: Tap the power of the Earth
EXPLORE: Tell someone how this feels. Invite them to join you.
CREATE: Mix it up: sway your hips in a figure eight. Or try Earthing: go outdoors in your bare feet.
MANIFEST: This week, practice Grounding Feet daily. Try this as you brush your teeth, cook, stand in line, on the phone, sit at a computer, etc.
Thank you for gathering support to melt any mischief in your Monkey mind. This mini-practice is from my deck of self-care tools, “HeartsQuest: Creative Tools to Navigate Change,” available at HeartsQuest.com/store. Thanks for clicking that heart and sharing a comment over on the website.
JOY of the WEEK: Our daughter and this sweetie Buster stay with us on holiday!
If you’re called to make something that matters and share it with others, it’s vulnerable. Risky. That’s when your Monkeys of Fear show up: anxiety, procrastination, Cookie Monster-ing, etc. When my Monkeys show up, it’s a signal to connect with my heart. To listen, love, learn and lean into my true desire. Because I want the same for you, I share joyful, game-changing practices each week.
Even with my Monkeys, I’m a multi-passionate maker. My work has appeared in Time Magazine, feature films, TV, newspapers, YA fantasy novels, on stages and festivals on the West Coast, and in bathrooms across the USA (“Holy Sh*t! 52 Self-care Tools for People who Poo.” all at HeartsQuest.com. Thank you for subscribing, darlin’. You got this. More to come!