Working Within Your Bubble

Is anyone else overwhelmed by the size of the problems in the world today?

As a school psychologist, one strategy that we might use with kids who are having big reactions (screaming, crying, throwing, hitting, calling the teacher a bitch - yep) to what grown-ups may consider small problems, is ask them, "what is the size of the problem?" If someone bumped into you while you were walking to art class, that sounds like a small problem with an easy solution - maybe tell your friend it made you upset that they bumped into you, and hug it out.

NOTE: If you choose to click on an affiliate link (AKA ad) on my page and make a purchase, I may get a small kickback from the advertiser. This is just one way I can monetize my blog and keep those good posts coming! Rest assured, I only endorse or advertise products I believe in. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Right now, so many problems in the world seem so BIG.

First of all, we are currently in the middle of a national pandemic that has put the world on a forced pause and has sickened, and killed, many people. Let alone has stressed everyone the heck out!!

Other notable big problems of our time include Donald Trump is the president of the United States (how is this even a factual sentence). Climate change has lead to massive natural disasters that feel like they occur around-the-clock. Oh yeah, and white supremacists are back doing out-loud hate.

Each of these problems seems so big that I just want to drink delicious beer with my friends and pretend none of these big bad things are happening.

Because they feel unsolvable.

That is when I learned about my bubble.

I have been a member at this beautiful yoga studio full of wholesome, normal people in Michigan for about a year (as of the publishing of this article). I have attended vin/yin classes, slow flow classes, heated blend classes, and even workshops to learn about the impact of trauma on the body. Each of these classes has made me feel more grounded, and much more hopeful.

But the problems are still big.

Cut to the current coronavirus and in-person yoga classes (and non-essential life activities) are suspended until further notice, and have been suspended for nearly 7 weeks now.

So, I signed up for a mindfulness discussion with one of my favorite yoga teachers via Zoom - the video platform that is keeping us all connected right now. Although 3 other people supposedly signed up for the video chat session, I was the only student who showed up.

So Ms. Amazing yoga teacher gave me a personal lesson on the fall of human intellect (our collective detachment from thinking and questioning), and basically the history of the world, in one hour. At the end, she asked me if I had any questions.

I of course, have many questions all the time, but I asked her this:

"How do you maintain a feeling that you can have an impact, especially in a world where there are people who challenge actual facts with ignorance and just plain hate?"

Her response was this: be their mirror, and focus on working within your bubble.

What Does "Working Within Your Bubble" Mean?

What the heck is "be their mirror?" you ask? Ms. Amazing yoga teacher said that anyone's mind who she's ever changed, was changed by reflecting back to them their own words and actions.

You can't change someone's mind who isn't even listening to you by telling them how wrong they are, but you can show them a perspective of their own self that may cause some new awareness.

Working within your bubble, however, is something we are all familiar with. A.K.A., "Think globally, act locally!"

This phrase has always frustrated me, because I definitely did not always connect local action with change in the big picture. But it is true that this is the only thing that has ever caused change. Your daily choices and how you show up in your world, your bubble, is the best way for you to communicate and impact others.

Working within your bubble may mean you bring your own mug to the coffee shop and an observer nearby sees this and adopt it into their own routine.

Or you may be the mirror for a big mean person, and they go back to their group a little bit different, and change the minds of their own friends.

It's all about planting seeds. We may never get to see the seeds take root, or grow into something beautiful that feeds others, but we did plant the seed.

So don't be bummed that you don't feel like you are impacting the whole big world and its big problems. And don't let that feeling discourage you from acting within your bubble, and affecting more change than you can know.

Bravely yours,

Emily Rose // Miss Magnolia

Still feeling overwhelmed? Check out these posts for more:

Vulnerability: What it is and Why We Need it - Vulnerability does not mean oversharing. It means hearing the question, "How are you?" And hesitating before answering with, "I'm fine." It's listening and knowing yourself, and engaging with the world authentically.

How to Protect Your Peace - How to talk to people who aren't listening, while still protecting your peace of mind.

The Path Forward is There, Even if You Can’t See it - The path emerges only as you walk it. Check out this post for lessons learned on the path of life, and how to take the first blind step forward.