the roller coaster

Ups and downs. Life is full of them. 

World events have put us on a roller coaster, and the one we're riding at the moment, folks? It's not the kiddie coaster. It's a rickety old thing that has vertical drops and loops, and you hope the harness passed its safety inspection. Given the appearance of the guy running the coaster at the moment --chomping on his cigar, smirking, muttering about pesky kids, counting his money --it's doubtful.

So what to do about it?

Hold on. Hold on to those you love and tell them that you love them.  Don't wait to do that. That will help you feel better because you're not on this ride alone. 

Hold on for a second and really survey the situation. It is okay to stop and think instead of reacting to everything immediately. Sometimes that's the best way to know and organize what to do next. Instinct is good, but we have frontal lobes for a reason. You may have to adjust your strategy depending on what part of the ride you're on.

Hold on to some of the anger. When you get off of this roller coaster (and it is when, not if), you make sure to mess up that guy running the coaster and you make sure no one ever pays to get on his death trap of a ride again. Even if you're feeling puky and exhausted and you're just thankful to be touching solid ground, you remember that anger and you use it. This ride is not okay. That any of us chose to get on in the first place is a mystery to me, yet here we are.

My emotions have been a roller coaster lately, too. They have made me unwise. That's not true. They didn't make me unwise. It was unwise of me to feel them (which is okay) and then allow them to make decisions for me. My emotional brain is not the best for making decisions under challenging circumstances. Panic is a crap leader (as are hatred, greed, etc.). That's why I have a frontal lobe. I plan to use it.

Deep breaths ...