Counteracting Overwhelm

Overwhelm is a condition of the mind when it is overcome. In today's world we are often overcome by the sheer volume of responsibilities. As tribes, many aspects of life were shared, as individual core family units (nuclear families), we have to take on all of those aspects ourselves. If you were, for instance, to write down the detail of everything you deal with on a daily basis, the list itself would be overwhelming.

As a mother, life can really get overwhelming these days. With the entrance into the working world, the household world was not reduced comparatively. Most mothers today are struggling in a highly competetive working world AND taking care of children AND households AND trying to etch out time for themselves so they don't go completely nuts.

But still - if overwhelm is a condition of the mind, there is a way to deal with it. Methodology, organizational techniques and techniques like de-cluttering can be very helpful on both the physical and the mental space. Learning to prioritize and to choose simplicity can also be helpful. But the biggest tool to counteract overwhelm is presence.

We can choose to focus only on the moment. We can recognize that this moment is precious and whatever else is on the to-do-list can wait until its turn and the flame under the overwhelm will be turned down. We can stop having the expectation that we have to do everything now. We can stop saying things like, "I have to," and "There's no other way." But most of all, we can stop having the expecation that things should different than they are.

The ultimate definition of Presence is that what is, is. And the willingness to be present is the willingness to accept what is in good grace, without any desire for it to be different than it is. It doesn't mean we don't set goals and work towards other things, it's just that we dwell in what is until it changes.

Overwhelm is ultimately a product of stress which is a product of fear. By bringing yourself back to this moment, by being present and one with what is now, loving the moment for what it is, you have ousted fear completely and its subsidaries as well.

Life can be overwhelming, yes, but the moment is so, so much more beautiful than a list of things we have to do later.

Blessings.
- Darshan

© 2009 Darshan F Jessop