elegant aspirations

The weather is beautiful in the Berkshires—blue skies, crisp nights, and encouraging signs of gorgeous fall foliage popping up everywhere. You can be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into English Romantic poet John Keats' exquisite poem "To Autumn" with its "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness". Over two hundred years after Keats penned this inspiring homage to the natural world, our autumnal landscape is littered with signs of a different type telling today's story. Political signs abound along with the colorful Chrysanthemums and pumpkins, jostling for attention, some of which are so large it's as if they have megaphones.

As the rhetoric ramps up and the drama plays out in the presidential election's final stretch, I'm not the only one finding it increasingly difficult to avoid the accompanying feelings of emotional overwhelm. Feelings of overwhelm can occur at any point in our lives for many personal reasons, and today, we are also living in turbulent times.

So, how is emotional overwhelm different from simply feeling stressed out? When we feel stressed, we are led to act such as being irritable, angry, and passive-aggressive, to name a few. Feeling overwhelmed takes us a step further. It's an emotional state where we are consumed by mental chatter, intense emotions about the past and present, and catastrophizing about imagined problems to come. Then, rather than act, we tend to freeze because we can't think of how to change the circumstances.

During the countdown to a presidential election, we are particularly susceptible to overwhelm because the messaging is designed to engulf us by tapping into this emotional response. After all, research shows that people are more inclined to vote with their hearts than their heads.

There is even a phenomenon in the United States called "October surprises." October surprises are characterized as dramatic news events in the election's final days that may influence the outcome, whether deliberately planned or spontaneously occurring. Although it has happened infrequently, we also know only too well from recent history that the race can be upended in the blink of an eye. In essence, we are programmed to be in a heightened emotional state as we anticipate some dramatic event that can significantly impact our lives and the course of history.

Understanding their root cause can help us manage our overwhelming feelings. In essence, these feelings stem from our resistance to what is. When we are overwhelmed by the present moment, we're out of step with what is, with how things are. What is happening now is what it is. No amount of emotional resistance will make any difference to what is happening now other than in the negative impact it has on our lives.

Why should we accept things as they are? The pointless resistance from feeling overwhelmed leaves us weak and unproductive, a state that the current political atmosphere exploits to the full.

So, I suggest we shift our focus, reclaim our power, and embrace an uplifting October surprise of a different type because here in the Berkshires, it's been a few seasons since we experienced such incredible fall colors as the ones appearing now. And if you're not in the Berkshires, explore what inspires and uplifts you in your surroundings, relationships, and pastimes.

This isn't to say that we bury our heads in the sand - quite the opposite. We find joy and fulfillment in the beauty surrounding us. Joy and fulfillment will nourish our spirits and inspire and re-energize us so we have the precious energy to work tirelessly together toward a kinder, more inclusive world for which we all strive.