FINDING CALM IN TURBULENCE

Regardless of your personal point of view, you know that our country is in very new place. When you think back over your life, it’s startling to realize how dramatically different the world is now from the way it was when you first became an adult. Let’s take a nice round number: 20 years. How much have things changed in two decades?

Twenty years ago…

We lived in a world that was pre-9/11, pre-Great Recession/Housing Bust, pre-smart phones, pre-big social media. It was very early days for the internet. (You wouldn’t be doing this!) We had a stable economy, the problem of climate change (global warming back then) was beginning to loom in the background, and politics were predictably dualistic – liberals vs. conservatives. There were no wars; immigration was not a big problem and the most engaging national political issue of the decade was a sex scandal. Facebook and Twitter were brand new, still light years from the degree of influence they exert today.
Moreover, in addition to all those things contributing to the drastic change we now see, there are two factors that have become part of our forward motion that make it that much more challenging to stay afloat. The first is how much the process of change has accelerated. Technology has been exponentially expanding for decades. The question we’ve never been asked, however, is this: How fast can the human psyche accommodate to change and what happens when we pass that point? Many believe we are already there.

The other reality we must deal with, which comes with the technology revolution, is the readily accessible, endless supply of data that we can tap into with our TVs, smart phones, tablets and computers. Most of us are inundated with more information than we can emotionally handle. Think about how you experienced the 2016 presidential election, compared with the one in 2012, only four years ago. More beaten up this time? It’s important to see that your 2016 experience (vs. 2012) goes beyond the candidates themselves. Consider all the places from which you got your information this time. Have you realized that the very idea of information itself has been changing lately? Do you know what a fact is? You used to, right?

So, what’s the damage? I’d say our country suffers from rampant opioid addiction, an epidemic of compulsive electronics use, feelings of dehumanization, social withdrawal and deep, relentless confusion. From our anxiety and depression, Big Pharma is making billions of dollars on all the antidepressants and tranquilizers always available at your nearest pharmacy. So many of us are just overwhelmed.

If too much change is negatively affecting you, wouldn’t it make sense to ground yourself in things that don’t change at all? Yoga, love, art, exercise, relaxation training and meditation have all been around for millennia and they’re still here because they still work. Despite all the change, our brains and neurotransmitters are structurally as they were thousands of years ago. So the things that we need in order to feel good, therefore, are going to be consistent. What do you think they are? Do you have them? If not, how can you get them?

Questions?

If helpful, please share!!!

Dr. James Kraut

My passion is to help guide you if you have chosen to look profoundly into the questions of your life. My goal is to help you get to the point where your existence on this wonderful planet has become a richer, deeper, and more meaningful process. Every story is unique and I would love to learn about yours.

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