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by Sarah Sacks

[post-views] VIEWS

Reconnecting to the Grid – What Do I Need to Sustain Me?

Reconnecting to the Grid - What Do I Need to Sustain Me

Here in Australia, the summer is a time when the children are off school for up to two months and many businesses slow down or even close their doors – the nation takes a vacation. 

At home, the TV stays on with that strange game called cricket playing in the background, puzzles and board games remain on the floor for days on end, fans whirring and midday naps common place, the days are long, slow and hot.

Perhaps related to the blistering heat, or perhaps related to our distance from the rest of the world, the summer in this country, can be like a trip back to the 70’s when everyone rode a cruiser and we ate sunnyboys after a visit to the local swimming pool.

A kind of time warp sets in, as we take life more slowly, less seriously and live more with the rhythms of nature.

And for me, there is nothing like time off the grid and then reconnecting, to help me realize just where I am at and what it is that I need to sustain me in an ongoing way.

So here is my list of what I need to sustain me:

  • Connecting – regular and committed periods of uninterrupted time with the people that matter to me most.
  • Camping – far away from man-made light, noise and conveniences.
  • Movement in nature – hiking and swimming are my favourite.
  • Taking in uninterrupted horizons – getting out of the city.
  • Invigorating my sense of adventure – in traveling to new places.
  • Learning – reading widely and planning my learning for the year ahead.
  • Gardening – keeping connected to the earth in an ongoing way.
  • Exercise – regular walking, yoga, swimming.
  • Eating – savouring new flavours in sync with the seasons.
  • Sleep – honouring my body and allowing enough time for rest.
  • Water – drinking lots of it.
  • The arts – connecting to my love of music, art and design.
  • Sitting – in meditation and contemplation.
  • Creating – writing, gardening and working collaboratively.
  • Wondering – looking at the stars, our children, nature.
  • Laughing – with those that I love.
  • Working – to make a difference in the world

So there you have it, this is my list of what I need to sustain me … what is yours?

About the Author: Sarah Sacks

Sarah is a qualified and experienced counsellor, meditation teacher and group facilitator.  

Sarah’s warm and intuitive counselling style, along with her extensive life experience, enables Sarah to gently support her clients towards their own path of change.

Qualifications – Bachelor of Holistic Counselling, Diploma of Transpersonal Counselling, Bachelor of Business (International Marketing & Trade), Diploma of Arts (Japanese), ACA (level 2), qualifying member for CAPAV

You can find Sarah at The Grove Counselling and Therapy and on Facebook.

5 Comments

Dianna H

Making my list of what to sustain me. Article right on time for organizing, making a monthly book to better organize my life. Husband retired due to severe heart/kidney diseases. Now functioning well, I can go back to an organized week planned ahead. Thanks for info to jump-start me! Dianna

Reply
renee

That all sounds great it’s what I would think problem is when I start thinking all those things I get overwhelmed How can you do all those things and still work the daily life and do the things you need to???

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karenyoung_heysigmund

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But here’s what you need to know: You don’t need to make sense of what’s happened to help them feel safe and held. We only need to make sense of how they feel about it - whatever that might be.

The research tells us so clearly that kids and teens are more likely to struggle after a tr@umatic event if they believe their response isn’t normal.

This is because they’ll be more likely to interpret their response as a deficiency or a sign of breakage.

Normalising their feelings also helps them feel woven into a humanity that is loving and kind and good, and who feels the same things they do when people are hurt.

‘How you feel makes sense to me. I feel that way too. I know we’ll get through this, and right now it’s okay to feel sad/ scared/ angry/ confused/ outraged. Talk to me whenever you want to and as much as you want to. There’s nothing you can feel or say that I can’t handle.’

And when they ask for answers that you don’t have (that none of us have) it’s always okay to say ‘I don’t know.’

When this happens, respond to the anxiety behind the question.

When we can’t give them certainty about the ‘why’, give them certainty that you’ll get them through this.

‘I don’t know why people do awful things. And I don’t need to know that to know we’ll get through this. There are so many people who are working hard to keep us safe so something like this doesn’t happen again, and I trust them.’

Remind them that they are held by many - the helpers at the time, the people working to make things safer.

We want them to know that they are woven in to a humanity that is good and kind and loving. Because however many people are ready to do the hurting, there always be far more who are ready to heal, help, and protect. This is the humanity they are part of, and the humanity they continue to build by being who they are.♥️

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Open post by karenyoung_heysigmund with ID 18073437878348955
When terrible things happen, we want to make sense of things for our kids, but we can’t. Not in a way that feels like enough. Some things will never make any sense at all. But here’s what you need to know: You don’t need to make sense of what’s happened to help them feel safe and held. We only need to make sense of how they feel about it - whatever that might be. The research tells us so clearly that kids and teens are more likely to struggle after a tr@umatic event if they believe their response isn’t normal. This is because they’ll be more likely to interpret their response as a deficiency or a sign of breakage. Normalising their feelings also helps them feel woven into a humanity that is loving and kind and good, and who feels the same things they do when people are hurt. ‘How you feel makes sense to me. I feel that way too. I know we’ll get through this, and right now it’s okay to feel sad/ scared/ angry/ confused/ outraged. Talk to me whenever you want to and as much as you want to. There’s nothing you can feel or say that I can’t handle.’ And when they ask for answers that you don’t have (that none of us have) it’s always okay to say ‘I don’t know.’ When this happens, respond to the anxiety behind the question. When we can’t give them certainty about the ‘why’, give them certainty that you’ll get them through this. ‘I don’t know why people do awful things. And I don’t need to know that to know we’ll get through this. There are so many people who are working hard to keep us safe so something like this doesn’t happen again, and I trust them.’ Remind them that they are held by many - the helpers at the time, the people working to make things safer. We want them to know that they are woven in to a humanity that is good and kind and loving. Because however many people are ready to do the hurting, there always be far more who are ready to heal, help, and protect. This is the humanity they are part of, and the humanity they continue to build by being who they are.♥️

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But first, we might have to actively protect the time when screens, social media, and the internet are out of their reach. Sometimes we’ll need to do this even when they fight hard against it.

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Open post by karenyoung_heysigmund with ID 18080770460136641
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Open post by karenyoung_heysigmund with ID 18083773586094765
What if schools could see every ‘difficult’ child as a child who feels unsafe? Everything would change. Everything.♥️

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Open post by karenyoung_heysigmund with ID 18077374403118466
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