When life’s stress is overwhelming, I focus on the things that are right in front of me and eliminate everything extraneous.
In just a few months, I am moving overseas. The magnitude of this change and accompanying stressors have manifested physically: my shoulders are tight, my head pounding, my sleep interrupted.
So this weekend, I picked up a book by Thich Nhat Hanh at a little library, moved my body, and rested. I laughed at dog videos. I snuggled my cats. I noticed the small beautiful things in the quiet of my home, like afternoon light that only lasted a moment.
I read Thich Nhat Hanh’s words: “If you are truly present and know how to take care of the present moment as best you can, you are doing your best for the future already. […] Everything is ok now.”
I also looked to other artists for reminders to take it slow, breathe, and take small steps forward. Morgan Harper Nichols (below, yellow) shares her beautiful art and poetry online, and they always seem to find me at the right time. Humberto Cruz (also known online as iscreamcolour, below, colorful) shares cheerful pep talks.
And over and over again, I am reminded that we never have to climb the whole mountain at once — we are in fact incapable of it. No matter the task, all we ever have to do (all we ever can do) is take the next step. As Hahn says, “My true home is in the here and now.”
So my only task, really, is to do the next right thing, here, in the present, and so move forward, slowly, slowly. And breathe.