Managing Milton

It’s Sunday right now (it will be Tuesday when you read this) and I’m staring at my computer screen trying to figure out what I could possibly say in a time like this.

Meanwhile, my phone keeps buzzing at me with notifications that aren’t really for me, I’m trying to make storm safety plans with my family, I’m checking in on friends, and I have a desire to eat all of my hurricane snacks in an effort to manage my own internal stress.

I feel like I can’t really focus and there’s a restless energy that wants to ooze out of me. I find myself wondering — am I sitting down to write this because I need to be productive in order to feel okay right now? Or is it because I want to make sure I don’t miss out on sending this week’s note just because a storm is coming?

Or maybe it’s because I want to do something for those of you who are also experiencing all the pre-storm jitters along with me. I want to give you something routine to look at and find comfort in during this time of chaotic disruption. Because doing things to help others (even if it’s as small, and simple, and stupid as sending out an email), makes me feel safe.

I’m not particularly worried about my own safety. I just think that when an entire collective is going through something together, the feelings associated with that experience can be amplified in everyone. I can feel the dysregulation in my mind, body, and soul. When I sit still enough to observe it, it makes me want to cry. And maybe if I do — maybe if we all give ourselves a moment to release some of this pent up stress, and fear, and other types of emotion swirling within us, we’ll feel a little calmer and a little more regulated.

Maybe I’ll give it a try and let you know how it goes. Maybe you can give it a try and let me know too.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I hope you feel prepared and I hope you feel safe.

Sending love.

PS — Since I’m not in the headspace to write much at this current moment in time, I thought it might be fun (and maybe helpful) to share something old that you may not have seen before. Read it here.