Tips to Navigate the Roller Coaster of Now

I was talking to a friend for the first time since this global shutdown came upon us.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

I answered, “Well, you know . . . it’s up and it’s down, good days and bad days, and today is not such a good day. The roller coaster ride of now.”

She repeated my sentence word for word, laughed, and said, “You have just nailed it.”

Up and down . . . good days and not so good days . . . the roller coaster ride of now.

And—the thing is—it doesn’t seem to matter what’s really going on.

For instance, a lot of great things are happening in my personal life right now. And in my clients’ lives. (Stay tuned, I have some real miracles to report!) I am focused on the positive, especially after last week’s revelation about how God searches out the positives and expands them. I am genuinely excited about coming into that space with him and allowing him to do that in my life, my relationships, my work.

And yet . . . yet the angst of the world’s suffering still seems to break in, even when I don’t watch the news much. It’s probably a factor in why I’m still easily triggered, like I was on Mother’s Day.

That Sunday held many wonderful things: my son and husband fixed something for me that delighted me, we had a nice meal with my son, the dog was here to play with.

However, a conversation with a relative had triggered me, and I just couldn’t get over it. I tried as best I could to focus on the positives, which did keep me from externally reacting. No one knew how lousy I felt inside.

The heaviness persisted until the next day, when I had that conversation with my friend. Somehow having her say she felt the same way, and knowing she really understood, lifted things a bit for me. Of course I worked on what was triggered with The Healing Codes and healing prayer, and that helped too.

In the end, though, I just had to go through it. Once I realized it was grief that was triggered, I just had to let those waves of grief roll over me, without fighting it.

The next day was better. And the day after that—well, the roller coaster ride continued, another wave rolled over, to mix my metaphors.

(Since it’s a mixed-up time anyway, it feels appropriate to mix my metaphors!)

So my friend, if this describes your journey as you attempt to slog through this unprecedented time, you are not alone. Someone said, “We are all in the same storm, but not in the same boat.”

It’s good to remember we’re not in the same boat. We all have our own “boats” to navigate, and it’s OK to realize that’s our first responsibility, to make sure our own boats stay afloat.

It’s also good to realize that everyone is on overload right now, to one degree or another. We are all navigating this weird mix of constant change and uncertainty, while at the same time, sheltering at home for so long, everything is somewhat the same day to day. Too many of the events we looked forward to, too many of the everyday things that provided a break in our days (like seeing friends, or attending church or–getting our hair done!)–these are no longer possible until who knows when.

Seems like a stressful mix. A grief-filled mix. And the stress and grief spill out from everyone.

Many of us, especially the Highly Sensitive, are prone to taking on some of this negative energy that is projected out from other people (and is stoked constantly by the news media). One author calls it Emotional Inflammation: “a state not unlike post-traumatic stress disorder, but one that stems from simply living in today’s tumultuous world.”

If this feels like you, I have a visualization that was given to me in an Immanuel Prayer session some time ago. It has proven useful to me, and may be to you.

The visualization is simple: picture that your heart is actually a hole, open in front and back. You might even want to put your hands like so in front of your chest, to make it more conscious.

In my original vision, Jesus was behind me, like the catcher behind the mound as I was “up to bat.” Whatever came at me went straight through this heart hole, and Jesus caught it. Then he took care of it.

Some of the things he just threw away. Some of the things he tossed back to someone else. Sometimes he would give it back to me, saying, “This is something for you to deal with,” such as forgiving another person. And the rest—well, he knew what to do with it. I could leave it in his hands.

Now, especially in the mornings, I feel like a lot is coming at me. I suspect much of what I feel on any given down day is probably not even mine. I consciously open up my heart space, front and back, and picture God behind me, catching whatever it is and taking care of it. This helps me with the sense of heaviness I often wake up with these days, as if during sleep the unhealed energy of those I’ve been exposed to has settled upon me. Now at night I pray that this process of energy passing through me to God would happen during sleep, and it has helped me wake up feeling more refreshed.

Hearing bad news troubles me. I can’t help it; I’m a Highly Sensitive empath. When I learned that an 18-year-old autistic girl from our area went missing as she walked her dog in a flooded area, I immediately felt the anguish of her family. I had to let that pass through me with the prayer: “through me to you, Lord. Take care of everything.”

CC BY-NC by Pat McDonald

As you ride the waves of this storm that’s engulfing the world, those waves will take you up and down. Remember that you are not alone. We are all riding the waves. If you’re have a not-so-good day, it’s OK. Your feelings are valid, they are shared, and you can let them pass through you. The feelings are like the weather; they will change. Good feelings, bad feelings, both kinds will pass as we let them wash through us.

And for those feelings that are not even ours, that spill over onto our boat and threaten to sink us—let those pass through your heart space to the Lord. He is quite capable of taking care of all of it.

That belief is my anchor. I hope it can be yours, too.

If you would like personalized help in navigating your “boat” through these turbulent times, I’m just a few clicks away at HealingCodesCoaching.com. I’d love to come alongside you as your healing journey mentor.