Go Ground Yourself

God has given us 5 wonderful gifts to use when we are stressed, grieving, and feeling disconnected from ourselves and others. Everyone has them. Do you know what they are? Your 5 senses! Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling! By concentrating on these 5 senses, you ground yourself to God, nature, this world, and life. When people are stressed they live in their heads. Their thoughts are racing and they are picturing everything in their mind. They are not in this world! They’re “gone!” By grounding yourself, you get out of your head and back into life. It calms your mind, soothes your emotions, and relaxes your body.
Need to ground yourself? Go for a walk in nature and feel the sun on your skin, hear the birds singing, smell the trees and flowers, feeling and hear the dirt below your feet. Take off your shoes and walk in the grass. Why to people love the beach, the mountains, a garden, or a hot bath with candles burning? They are places where people ground themselves. We need to ground ourselves regularly! When I work with anxious kids, I pull out the sandbox in my office, instruct the kids to take off their socks and shoes, and put their hands and feet in the sand. Most kids just climb in the box… and love it! You can just see their anxieties melt away.Throughout your day, ground yourself. Smell and taste the food you eat. Notice the change in seasons, the colors of the trees. Feel the sun on your face, the rain on your hands, the sounds of life around you. Whatever grounds you, do it regularly and give thanks to God for giving you such wonderful gifts.