Being Grounded Staying Grounded

Being grounded appears at first thought to be a rather simple concept. For me it brings up thoughts of staying centered, of not losing sight of the end goal/purpose, of standing firm. Simple to talk about, right? Maybe not so simple to actually do. And when I actually started to look into the meaning behind the meaning of the term grounded (or grounding) there’s a bit more to it. It is about standing firm and keeping yourself centered, yes. But the intriguing thing is, that it’s about keeping yourself that way through actually grounding yourself to… the ground. By making direct physical contact to the earth/dirt/ground. 

Like walking barefoot through the grass, or in the ocean. Or gardening without gloves on so you make direct physical contact to the elements in the dirt. There are some groups dedicated solely to doing this. And there have even been articles written about the scientific benefits of coming into direct contact with the earth (through gardening, in the article I read). 

So when looked at in this way, being grounded takes on a whole new meaning. It’s not just keeping centered and standing firm, but keeping yourself centered through playing in nature, running your hands through the dirt and letting it crumble through your fingers. Through listening to the waves of the ocean. Through walking barefoot in the grass and letting the individual blades tickle your toes. 

I think what I’m getting at is that maybe we overcomplicate things. Maybe the answer to it all, or one of the answers to it all, is something so simple that it’s rather profound. Instead of trying to force yourself to sit at your desk and work, work, work, or stay inside and get all of your household chores done, or keep yourself so busy running errands and keeping up with just life, and trying to convince ourselves that this is making us happy. My big question is, does it make you happy? All that running around and trying to keep up. Does it make you feel more happy and relaxed? Or does it just add to your anxiety and worry and feelings that there’s way too much to do and not enough time to get it all done? 

Could it be, perhaps, that the answer is to try and simplify things, and take just a bit of time to ground yourself? I know this probably sound rather drastic. Like you don’t have enough to do, and what am I doing, asking you to put one more thing on your “to do” list? But maybe taking a half hour to take a walk might not be so hard. I mean you’re probably spending at least that amount a day scrolling through social media, right? Or maybe instead of buying premade flower pots, you get the individual plants and containers and dirt and make your own. It’s a bit more time (and some could say work) but running your hands through the dirt just might help improve your mood and help your stress, which might in turn help you to ground yourself a bit and be able to see the bigger picture and make easier decisions for yourself.

So after saying all that, I do want to hold myself accountable, too. Especially since I’ve been guilty of feeling too much stress and anxiety lately, and not trying to do anything to alleviate it. So in light of that, I’m going to start taking daily afternoon/evening walks. I won’t be actually physically grounding (I’ll have my sneakers on) but I’m going to go outside (no indoor gym for me) and go for a walk. I figure the smell in the air, and the sound of birds will get me on the right track. And I’m sure it will do me better than being inside scrolling away on social media and even better than walking in and indoor gym. I don’t mean to be disrespectful to those who enjoy working out at the gym, that’s definitely a great form of self-care. But for those who want something a bit more peaceful, just going for walk outside is a good place to start. 

Here’s to first steps in creating your own Potted Oasis!