Worry

Mimulus Bach flower remedies Simone Knorr

I didn‘t notice the arrival of spring this year. Suddenly everything was green, lush, and beautiful, and I hadn’t been aware that springtime had been creeping up upon us. So why had I missed my favourite part of the year? Because I let my mind be caught up with what Putin was doing with Ukraine; his brutality, seen daily in the news – it stunned me. I couldn’t look out to my surroundings in March, April, and May; I wasn’t observing Nature, my attention was elsewhere, caught up in the horrors of war.

(If you haven’t read my last posting about Putin called ‘The evil of ‘Vine’ it is here.)

When I noticed that I hadn’t noticed spring coming, it got me thinking. What is the difference between worry and rumination? Rumination is the White Chestnut state where thoughts and problems go round and round in our heads without reaching a result. I wasn’t ruminating about Ukraine; I was in a continual state of tension and concern. It was like background static -  a lingering threatening quiet tone telling me that the world is out of kilter. I experienced negative thoughts, but they were very diffuse, I was worried but not turning a specific problem over in my mind. Worry and rumination overlap in that they involve negative thinking, and yet they are distinctive.

My worry and concern were about the future. What about the bereaved and separated families? What will become of the 10 million refugees? How will Ukraine survive the Russian onslaught? In contrast, when I have a White Chestnut state; it is about something that has already happened, it is about the past. Intrusive thoughts can occur but that was also not an aspect of my Ukraine anxiety; I had no intrusive thoughts, more a steady background noise. The White Chestnut state can mean blowing up little things out of proportion, someone might say; ‘don’t be so overly concerned about xyz!’. There seems to be little danger of underestimating what Putin’s decision to go to war means to the future world and the stability of Western democracies.

Another reason I was so numb to Nature this year was my continued work on research about my family’s history during World War II. The Ukraine war meant past and present atrocities all fell into one sad space in my mind making me painfully aware of what war means to humanity. I did a posting on my family a few years ago called ‘Breaking Decades of Silence’, which is here (if you’re interested).

For now, I’m on Red Chestnut (for my worry about the refugees and people fighting), Mimulus (for my fear of the dramatic changes to stable world order), and Walnut (protecting me from Putin’s evil doings - so he doesn’t get inside my head). I hope the mixture and my personality remedies will help me regain my inner quiet; I’ve also decided to follow the news less. However, what gives me hope is the rapid growth of renewable energy that Putin is provoking as we free ourselves from Russian energy sources and the solidarity the Western world is (mostly) demonstrating. How are you dealing with a world out of balance? I would love to read your comments.

The Mimulus flower photo is from my colleague Simone Knorr, BFRP. Thanks to her :-)

Further training courses taking place this year, check them out: Marketing for practitioners

Mindful communication - heighten your abilities to understand your clients.

 

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Nicola's blog

'One Person's Journey' available as an ebook.

Further training course for practitioners:

Sept. 2024: BC-ACE workshop Mindful communication

Previous blog postings:

- Navalny, Vervain personified

- My phone, my habits!

- Sheer bloodymindesness

- Everything is connected

- Worry

- The evil of 'Vine'

- Finding meaning in life

- Corona - again

- Deadly floods

- A red chestnut discovery

- Impatiens broke my arm

- Goodbye 2020

- Magic

- Coming out of lockdown

- When normality slips away

- Our house is on fire

- The Elm bottle breaks

- When nearly everything changes

- Our social lives and genes

- Two refugees

- A nasty accident

- Friendliness

- Sleep

- Panic

- Someone mad with you?

- Breaking decades of silence (II)

- Who is not socialising and why?

- Breaking decades of silence (I)

- Who gets angry and why?

- Hey, Mr President!

- The saddest day

- Life is full of stories

- At Heathrow

- Building site Guardian Angel

- Letting go

- Specifically Chicory

- The Travellers - a fun piece!

- Emotional baggage

- A wild bird and the rescue remedy

- The garden at Mt.Vernon

- Inside Mt. Vernon

- Brightwell-cum-Sotwell

- Edward Bach's philosophy

Nicola Hanefeld 15My name is Nicola Hanefeld, I am English but I've lived in the Black Forest area in Freiburg, Germany, since 1981. I was a biology teacher before I left England. I have been a BFRP since 1997 and am also a trainer for Bach Centre approved courses. I have three wonderful children, all grown up now and am blessed with three grand-children. I'm a member of Greenpeace and am also a teacher of the Alexander Technique.

Alongside the Bach flowers, photography is one of my passions. Follow me on Instagram where I share my photos. Another passion is writing, and you will find many stories relating to my experiences with Edward Bach's amazing remedies in my book One Person's Journey.

ONE PERSONS JOURNEY

 

 

 

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