  Spiritual
This week: The Mountain of Too Much Edited by: Sophy New Year  
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Hi, I'm Sophy New Year ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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The Mountain of Too Much
"The mountain of too much" – it might be it’s stress at work or your personal life crashing in on you, worries about your health or that of someone you love, concerns about money or the never-ending cycle of turbulent political news – whatever it is that causes you to be overwhelmed – “the mountain of too much,” a term coined by psychotherapist David Kuntz, is an excellent metaphor to describe it. Whether you fuss over your mountain of too much in the “wee hours” of the night when things always seem so much darker – or during the day when you are supposed to be doing something productive – most of us know the experience of being overwhelmed and stressed to the point of breaking.
We are anxious about the future, or maybe about something we did or didn’t do in the past. We worry that we will never get all of our work done, or about something going on with our kids. We fear for our world, as too many people seem gripped by such anger and xenophobia. At times the mountain feels insurmountable as we get caught up in what feels like an endless cycle of anxiety and fear mongering. Then we get crabby, or sick because we don’t take care of ourselves. We eat or drink too much. We don’t get enough exercise, and suffer from weariness and malaise. Or all of the above. So what can we do? How can we not only survive, but also thrive during times of challenge? How can we conquer our mountains of too much? Here are a few ideas that occur to me … I’ll invite you to share some of yours in the comments.
First, as any mountain climber knows, you don’t race to the summit. You carefully plot your course, check the weather, and make sure you carry enough with you to survive without overburdening yourself. You stop and rest along the way, shake pebbles out of your boot, and maybe even enjoy the view occasionally. In effect, you pace yourself.
Another suggestion is to find a moment or more of stillness at the foot of your mountain each day. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Then another. Take time to be still at moments throughout your day and breathe in, deeply. Exhale, deeply. As you breathe deeply, in and out, close your eyes and remind yourself no one knows for sure what lies ahead. So today, in this moment, tell yourself, “I will do as much as I can, as well as I can.” Be mindful, live in this moment – not in those that lie ahead of us, but in the now. Be present. Breathe. In and out.
Count your blessings. One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies – “White Christmas” – is when Betty Haynes finds Bob Wallace as wide-awake as she is in the middle of the night, worrying. So Bing’s Bob croons to Rosemary’s Betty, “When I’m worried and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. And I fall asleep counting my blessings.” I know that sounds trite – but it works for me. When I’m worried and I can’t sleep – counting the many blessings in my life calms my heart and mind, and helps return me to the present moment. I am grateful for my home, my family, my friends, this spiritual community, that I have food to eat and beautiful garden enjoy and a sweet dog who adores me – all when so many have so much less. So when I begin to worry, I remind myself of the many blessings I have in my life. As Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you ever utter is ‘Thank you!’ it will be enough.”
In times of fear and anxiety we tend to close the gates, build walls and protect what’s ours, even if we have more than we need. But there are others with much less than we have, so make sure we share our blessings with them. That might mean dropping off groceries at a food bank, or volunteering time or money to a favorite charity, be an ally for those who are most afraid. In other words, when we reap the harvest of our lives – make sure we leave some for those who need it the most. Helping others certainly contributes to our well being, as well as theirs.
We can also work at building each other up instead of tearing each other down. Instead of responding with snarky comments or posts on social media and adding to the already overly negative narrative, try being positive in your interactions – both on and offline. Uplift others, be encouraging – look for the good in the world. Seek out news stories that inspire instead of incite – and be inspiring instead of inciting. Do not replay evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another. Be the good you want to see in the world.
These are just a few ideas that occur to me to help with the mountains of too much we all experience from time to time, so that we can climb those mountains with a little more confidence, feeling a little less weary. What ideas do you have to add? How do you cope with anxiety? What practices do you turn to help alleviate stress when you are feeling overwhelmed?
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Below you'll find some spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review. I realize I post mostly poems, but that is because it is tough to find other types of spiritual writing on the site (most are poems). If you have something you would like me to highlight, please do share it with me, thanks!
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| | Tulips (E)
The days of spring bring blazes of color in the form of tulip blooms. Joy for Life!
#2123095 by Jay O'Toole  |
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Here is a response to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (May 3, 2017)" about a "Beginner's Mind:"
From Whata SpoonStealer 
That's funny! We just took the trash out each day before leaving, but a kennel! 
Right? It's brilliant!
      
From Quick-Quill 
Your Beginner's mind is my WHAT IF? Years ago I entered a contest where we had the prompt to write a story from the perspective of a bird, fish or predator. My story is about a Lioness after the fall of man in the Garden. What would the change be like from a vegetarian to a carnivore? Just my idea.
Thanks for sharing this!
From A*Monaing*Faith 
I find the Non-striving principle interesting. what's the point in being creative if you're supposed to resist inclinations to change, improve, and achieve? Everything else sounds honkey-dorey though 
Maybe I will write more about that one in a future newsletter! 
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! Sophy New Year |
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Spiritual: May 31, 2017 Issue [#8307]
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