There is a lot of heaviness in the world lately.

The collective is struggling. Life often feels overwhelming these days, for reasons that continue piling up one after the other. For those of us who are highly sensitive, prone to anxiety, and already a bit on the serious side … it may feel as if we’ve forgotten how to have fun altogether.

Yes, our everyday existence can feel heavy – now more than ever. Life is not easy, and none of us escape its ups and downs. If that’s the case, though, how do we learn to handle those changes with ease and grace? If the difficulties and sorrows are inevitable, can we shift our perspective to find gratitude for all the wonderful moments? Can we focus on the positive instead of the negative?

That’s never been my strong suit. My family has a very pessimistic outlook on the world and I absorbed that same view growing up without realizing it. Even now I struggle to fight their gloomy, dismissive perspective when we communicate. It feels like swimming upstream just to keep myself from falling back into the same habits.

Pulling myself out of this conditioning hasn’t been easy, and I’ve always been serious, even as a child. I had to grow up early, dealing with an unpredictable and unstable mother who homeschooled us and so was the primary figure around which my young life revolved. I never really got to be a kid – I always took on the parental role instead. Add an absentee alcoholic father to the mix, and you can see why I had a hard time enjoying myself as a young girl.

Sometimes I’m not sure I even know how to regain that youthful, playful, carefree soul that existed inside me at some point before the world had other plans. I do know that keeping life as light as possible, no matter what happens, is key to maintaining happiness and decreasing stress. I’m working on finding and nurturing that part of myself back into existence.

What parts of your own self feel heavy? How can you bring more play and lightness into your life? If pieces of your world are weighing you down, can you shift something to help release that burden? Maybe you are already in touch with your lighter side, but you hide it away because you don’t feel safe to reveal your authentic spirit.

Find a way to play today. Make shifts, large or small, that begin to bring some lightness and joy into your life. You have so little control over what happens in this world – but you can control your perspective and your attitude towards it. Focus on that rather than trying desperately to reach outside yourself all the time. Every single one of us has playfulness and sweetness inside, even if it’s buried deeply under years of stress and trauma.

You can do this, you lovely soul. You can unbury yourself. Gentle gentle. Sending you love.