weathering the storm together

Staying Human in Unstable Times

I’ve been wanting to start writing about what it means to stay human in times that feel anything but stable. This blog is for anyone trying to navigate anxiety, overwhelm, and uncertainty while still finding meaning, connection, and courage. Each post will explore the messy, real stuff we feel — and offer a small, concrete practice to help you feel steadier and more grounded in your life.

When Everything Feels Weird and Normal at the Same Time

Times are weird and tough and normal at the same time right now. We are living our everyday lives — going to work, paying rent, watching Love Is Blind — and meanwhile there is mayhem in Chicago, Washington D.C., Portland, the climate crisis is accelerating, and AI takes over everything.

We’re trying to plan things for the future, and in the back of our mind there might be a voice saying, “Who knows what will be in a year anyways.” The future has become unpredictable, and the present has become a weird combination of a grounding anchor and a burden when we are trying to face our fears.

The situation is confusing and scary. We’re torn between being on social media all the time — hoping that knowing about the atrocities, executive overreach, and dwindling rights across the country is somehow helpful — and burying ourselves under a blanket, hoping it will all just blow over.

It can be depressing, anxiety-inducing. We can feel almost paranoid or completely avoidant.

And then everyone talks about community, but we often hardly feel it. Aren’t we supposed to be able to let ourselves fall into the community we have — feel connection there? Feel safety there? Feel love and support there? But are we?!

I don’t know about you, but I have witnessed and experienced complete speechlessness and overwhelm in this. Our culture is already not great at expressing feelings, so we tend not to be great at this in the first place. And now we are in a situation of total upheaval. Most of us neither know what we feel, let alone can express it.

And then there are the cultural values that say we’re not supposed to “bum others out” or talk about politics with friends — because those times are supposed to be when we have fun.

So it can feel super helpful to be on social media for this. Sometimes it gives us a little hope, sometimes it makes us feel understood, sometimes it gives us perspective. And so we just get enough understanding, hope, and mutual support to not completely fall apart — but nowhere nearly as much as we would if we had talked to our friends. AND by not allowing our friends to hear how we feel, we loose even more of that community connection.

Because you know what’s missing? Someone looking you in the eye. Someone giving you a hug. Someone vibing with you while you say, “I am just so sad about all this.” And someone who responds, “Me too.” And then maybe says, “And I love you, and we are in this together.” How does that feel? Doesn’t that sound like an interesting kind of solace in a confusing world?

Our soul and our bodies and our mental health consist of so much more than our cognition. We need to have our feelings heard. We need physical touch and comfort. We need to know that we are not alone. But we won’t know that until we start sharing — really sharing — with our friends and acquaintances that we are scared, and sad, and grieving because we no longer recognize this world.

A Small Practice for This Week

The next time someone asks you, “How are you?” — try answering honestly. You don’t have to tell the whole story. Just something true. "Honestly, I am feeling overwhelmed with everything going on. It makes me sad about the state of the world."

And then notice what happens. Notice how your body feels when you let your truth out and when someone meets you there.

That moment — that tiny bit of real connection — is where community begins.