The chaos of life seems to be operating at an all time high, and I imagine it may get worse before it calms down. So what can you do to support yourself? Maria Shriver’s advice today in the Sunday Paper really helped calm me and made me think. She included a statement from Pope Francis, “Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women.” Something so simple, to be courageous and approach others with tenderness. Tensions and fear continue to rise with each day, as the world as we know it continues to spiral, seemingly out of control. What if you chose to respond to others with tenderness, and put aside differences in the interaction, are you courageous enough to try?

If we each were practicing self-care every day, we might be grounded enough to practice a little tenderness, whether in your own family, with co-workers, or in the community. Oh that’s another great tidbit from the Sunday Paper, an article on grounding techniques. These really spoke to me. I started a daily practice last Tuesday of beginning my day with a walk outside, setting my timer for 10 minutes and turning around when it went off. I found myself to be more calm during the day and able to extend tenderness to others, as I felt grounded. If earth is not your element and its water instead, putting your feet in a stream, taking a bath, or going for a swim might be grounding for you. Are you taking a few minutes of peace for yourself in the day?

Yesterday on my morning walk I had a surprising experience. I was about five minutes into my walk, enjoying the sound of the birds chirping above me and the cool breeze on my cheeks. I was looking up at the crisp blue sky above, then turned to look at the bushes to my right as I walked. And that’s when it happened. I saw something white out of the corner of my eye, down on the ground. I looked down and was shocked to find a golf ball. Not an ordinary golf ball, it was a Callaway golf ball that has red hexagon shapes displayed around the ball, just like a soccer ball. Why was I shocked? I had played golf with a ball like this for the past seven years and had recently lost it in the bushes on a tough golf course. My son is a soccer player and I had found this ball on a course at the time he was playing competitive soccer in high school. It made me smile when I would play with this golf ball, as I felt connected to him, and made him smile when I would play golf with him and use it. I had felt sad when I had lost it. And here was another golf ball just like it, appearing in my path, seemingly out of the blue. Things like this happen when we are open and taking space for ourselves. So maybe you will believe that anything is possible now after hearing this? Something amazing like this could happen to you. If you are courageous and practicing tenderness, you might be more open to a lovely surprise like this. And you might be able to relax for a moment, take in the calm and breathe.