Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

Today, I'm going to talk about

how we can work with eco anxiety.

So we are currently living

through a time of upheaval,

uncertainty, and looming challenges.

So really understandably many of

us are feeling, you know, ongoing

feelings of fear and anxiety.

In a situation like this, it's really easy

to get caught up in unhelpful thinking

habits, like becoming consumed with

rumination and worry about the future,

or, you know, we might try distracting

ourselves in an attempt to escape things

or numb ourselves through addictions.

We may even fall into a sense of

helplessness or even depression

because it's so overwhelming.

Is there another way?

Is it possible to face what's happening

around us without getting swept away

by fear overwhelm or hopelessness?

I believe that it is possible.

And in order to do so, we need

mindfulness, self-compassion, and the

ability to focus on what we can control.

Firstly, we need mindfulness because it

offers us a refuge, a stable and safe

inner place amongst the storms of life.

When we anchor ourselves in presence,

in this place of inner strength and

stability, we find that we're more able to

hold and bear what once felt unbearable.

We learn to gently face things as they

are and work with them more skillfully.

Second, we need self-compassion so that

we can meet our difficult emotions.

You know, in difficult times, we

don't want to pretend that we're

not feeling difficult emotions.

We don't want to try and escape

them or struggle with them too much.

Instead, just being able to acknowledge

your feelings and give yourself

compassion for what you're going

through, is a really important skill.

And three is to focus

on what you can control.

So in times of challenge or crisis,

a certain amount of fear and stress

is really inevitable and natural.

But we often cause ourselves a lot

of excess suffering by continuously

worrying about all kinds of things

that are not really in our control.

You know, for example, you cannot

control what other people are doing.

You cannot control how certain

natural disasters might be unfolding

around the world or how the whole

political landscape is unfolding.

And in fact, the research shows

that the more you focus on things

that you cannot control, the more

overwhelmed and disempowered and

frantic you're likely to feel.

So one of the most important things you

can do when facing a challenge is to focus

on what you can control and accept for

now, the rest really simply is as it is.

What you can control is your behavior.

And our research shows that focusing

on what you can control and taking

action guided by your values, shifts

you from a state of helplessness to

one of hopefulness and empowerment.

So your values, you know, that

are going to guide your actions

might be things like kindness,

courage, playfulness, determination.

Whatever your values are, connect with

them, let them guide your actions.

Perhaps just starting by considering

what's one small thing that I can

do today to make things better.

So in a time when you might've

otherwise felt paralyzed, depressed,

or overwhelmed, taking action

restores calm, resilience, and agency.

So may you connect with the

presence, compassion, and strength

that you have inside of you as you

navigate these challenging times.

Thank you for your practice

and your presence here.

Let's settle in for today's meditation.