What does it mean to feel, “shaky?” And what does it mean to feel like you have your feet planted solidly on the ground?
I’m asking because today I feel shaky.
I’ll try to describe what I mean by that.
There is so much uncertainty — more than the usual stuff. The economy is weak (no matter what Joe Biden says)… the dreaded cold weather is coming… footage of horrific and senseless crime is coming from all over the country… teachers unions are showing their true colors… there are the impending elections… and my 9-month old puppy is in a chewing phase.
All of those factors leave me feeling as though there could be an earthquake at any moment.
By contrast, I can describe a moment in time where my feet felt as though they were on terra firma. Prior to the 1998 Winter Olympics, I traveled to Sarajevo to cover an Olympic hopeful striving to make his country’s team amidst the Bosnian War.
There were soldiers everywhere. The words, “Welcome to Hell,” were spray-painted on buildings. Power-outages occurred at random times. Bomb threats were the norm. I met people who told me they danced the nights away in local clubs because they weren’t sure they’d survive the next day.
After departing Sarajevo, I had a stop-over in London. It was there, on a bright sunny day in England, that I felt like I was safe again, like I was on solid ground.
So there is the contrast: uncertainty versus solid ground.
While the experience in Sarajevo was exhilarating and challenging, I wanted to get out alive. I wanted solid ground.
Fortunately, our entire crew got out of Bosnia safe and sound.
But here we are, more than twenty years removed from that experience, and life in America doesn’t feel as grounded as it did back then.
So the question is, what do we do when we feel “shaky?”
First, we should breathe. That old adage about counting to ten makes a lot of sense these days.
Second, we need to remember that we have control over our reactions. As Marcus Aurelius wrote in “Meditations,”
“Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed.
Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.”
Then again, can the answers really be this simple? Is deep-breathing enough to deter anxiety about the economy?
I don’t know. But it’s worth a try.
We need to think in simple terms: what is positive about my life? For what am I grateful? How significant are my “problems?” What changes can I make to improve my situation?
And how can I use the “shaky” feelings to my advantage?
What if I decided to get pissed off at the shakiness and tell myself, “Uncertainty sucks. I’m going to work harder at the things I can control.”
What if I told myself, “Life ain’t so bad. I’m going to CHOOSE to be happy rather than feel like a victim.”
And what if I decided, “I’m going to make a simple change tomorrow that will improve my life”?
That simple change could be waking up five minutes earlier to get things going. It could be making the bed instead of leaving it sloppy. Maybe it’s five minutes of morning meditation. Or a healthy breakfast. Or a walk around the block.
We all have agency over our lives, our paths, our existence.
And, usually, when we take control of that agency, we are happier, healthier people.
And much less shaky.
Michelle,
If I may add, those of us who are strong should go out of their way to help the weak.
If you are shaky, the weak among us must be terrified.
Be that prime example of how human beings can be if they so choose.
All we can control is our reaction to people, places, things. The world will do what it’s gonna do anyway. We are in shaky times, indeed.