.Daily Gratitude: This is one of the most important concepts you can embrace these days. It’s hard to feel at peace when you look at the news and all that’s happening in our cities- things previously thought about when considering “other” countries.

All the uproar is screwing up our nervous systems. And most of us don’t even realize it. We may feel “uneasy”, whatever that means. Some may even identify the feeling as “anxiety”. No matter what label you impose on those feelings, it is the release of survival chemicals because your brain and its allies (at least something has allies) are preparing for war – that is how they interpret your environment if you let it rush past you untamed.

You’re probably thinking “But what the heck can I do?”.

The most important answer here is to find a way to calm your nervous system and do as we said in the Navy – send all those troops (the components of your nervous system) back to “shore duty”.

Find a way (breathing, meditation, yoga, walking, whatever) to calm your inner being.

You will be ineffective at anything until you do. It’s the old “put your oxygen mask on before you put them on your kids” theory.

I recently read a book that has me contemplating its main idea – that there is a difference between a thought and thinking and that thinking is what causes our negative thoughts.

There are parts of this I am not totally accepting right now but I am examining what goes on between my ears more closely now and there is a great degree of truth in his idea.

Anyway, the point is to stop and take some deep breaths when things seem to be going poorly. It will help until you can find another way to help calm you down (meditate when you have time for example).