How do we find balance while we live in a world that feels chaotic? Many of us can feel pressured to always be doing something, or to be able to label our continuous growth. But sometimes so much is going on that we may feel like we're adding to the chaos.

While it’s important for us to find hope and healing as we strive to improve our lives and ourselves, it is also okay for us to stop, take a breath, and acknowledge everything that we are individually and collectively going through. It is okay to recognize that things have been chaotic and unbelievably hard for us as we live through a pandemic and everything else going on.

As we take a second to process and let ourselves feel our emotions, what can we do to learn how to manage those feelings of anxiety, trauma, and stress?

For one, it’s important that we give each other grace and compassion to allow ourselves the space to process and survive at our own pace. We all have different ways of healing and living, and that involves honoring what works best for us. Try to build in those small things that bring you joy into your everyday life, and go out of your way to build yourself some comfort and peace to ground you when things get to be too much. No one has all of the answers and solutions on how to stay calm and measured in a time where everything feels uncertain and gloomy, but what we do know is that you can find joy and live for yourself and the people around you in your community. Seek out what makes you laugh, calm down, and feel what life can be without the extra anxieties around you. We aren’t guaranteed a future, but we are guaranteed the present, and everything that we can do to enjoy it, big or small. It may seem hard, but try making expectations for yourself on what success and happiness looks and feels like to you, and not what society deems that to be. It is okay if all you have done in a day is survive, and that shouldn’t feel minimized because of the individualistic, competitive culture around us - you live to enjoy your life, not to impress others.

Feel out the balance of what you need to do to manage your day to day and decompress at the end of it. Learn and try out different things that feel right for your life, and spend time enjoying yourself with others and building community with people around you. We are in this together, and can find new joy if we extend kindness to each other and ourselves.