Hi {{first_name | Reader}},
As I’ve watched and read about what has been unfolding in our country since the start of the new year, I’ve felt a strong pull to write something - to offer a steadying perspective or a sense of guidance through what feels like a dark and confusing time.
The truth is, for a while I couldn’t even organize my own thoughts or emotions well enough to do that. I needed time to process, look within, and find my footing again. Now, it feels like the right moment to speak.
There are times when the state of the world feels unbearably heavy. The news is loud, ominous, and often contradictory. Everywhere you look, there’s pain, destruction, or something that makes you lose faith in the people or institutions you once trusted. It can feel like so much is broken that it can’t all be fixed. It can seem like change is needed right away, but everything are either stuck or moving backwards.
I see the effects of this every day in my practice, my family, strangers on the street, and in myself.
When we care deeply, it’s easy to fall into the urgency trap, or the sense that we need to fix everything right away. That if we just try harder, speak louder, or do more, we can somehow force love and healing into what feels broken. But something I’ve learned, through life and through my work, is that healing doesn’t happen through force or urgency. It happens with space and presence, on its own timeline.
There comes a point when caring too broadly begins to overwhelm the nervous system. Instead of moving us into clear, meaningful action, it can lead to paralysis, guilt, numbness, or constant distraction. Not because we’re weak, but because our nervous systems were never meant to carry the weight of the entire world. When the frame becomes too large, the system collapses under the weight.
True healing, whether personal or collective, doesn’t begin at a global level. It begins locally, and often hyper-locally. It starts in one body, one nervous system, or sometimes even in a single cell. One sign that some degree of healing has happened is that you make different choices in familiar situations, and your new choices leave you with a sense of peace rather than angst. It might look like choosing to pause instead of escalating an argument, or allowing yourself to feel what’s present rather than pushing past or ignoring it.
This is something I witness every day in the studio. People don’t heal because they’re pushed or forced to change. They heal when their wounds finally feel seen and understood, when urgency softens, when there’s permission to slow down, and when someone isn’t trying to fix them but is simply willing to listen and be present.
That may sound passive at first, but it’s not just leaving things to chance. Our bodies are remarkably capable when interference is removed and they’re given the right conditions to reorganize. Force is met with equal and opposite force. Healing, on the other hand, unfolds through being witnessed, feeling safe, and developing trust.
There’s a paradox here that’s worth sitting with: the more global our concern becomes, the less effective our efforts tend to be. The more local our presence, the more powerful our impact. When we stop asking, “How do I fix all of this?” and instead ask, “How can I be fully here right now?” something shifts. Tension melts, breath deepens, and the system gains enough space to move towards balance on its own. It’s like taking the weight of the world off your shoulders so you can focus on what is actually within your power.
Ultimately, the only thing we can truly control is how we respond, and that response is where real change begins. We start with ourselves, choosing love and peace in each moment, and that is what radiates outward. This principle applies to our bodies, our nervous systems, and many other areas of life.
Presence isn’t a technique; it’s a state. It often looks like slowing down, listening, allowing things to be as they are, and letting change happen on its own timeline. When urgency drops, the body and mind feel safer and more at ease, and that state is ideal for both healing and peace.
On days when the world feels especially dark or overwhelming, a simple practice can help. Place your feet on the ground, take a few slow belly breaths, and remind yourself: I am not responsible for everything. I am responsible for myself and my state of mind.
You don’t make the world more peaceful by carrying or absorbing the world’s pain. You do it by refusing to let that pain harden or hijack your nervous system. Calm isn’t complacency, slowness isn’t avoidance, and presence isn’t indifference. They are the conditions that allow life to reorganize toward health.
They say that hurt people hurt people. That doesn’t mean that everyone who is in pain will spread that to others, but the ones who cause misery are coming from a place of pain rather than peace. Everyone gets hurt in life, but we can choose to spread our love or our pain. When we heal our own wounds, we make it easier for those around us to heal too.
Real change is a result of what we all choose to focus on. And every person and every choice make a difference in the grand balance.
Peace,
Dr. Joshua Pickell
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Disclaimer:
This email is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized health decisions.
