It's hard to live in peace when we are surrounded by gossip from negative rumors in the workplace to breaking news and online chatter about the lives of celebrities and politicians.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines gossip as "idle talk, trifling or groundless rumor."[1] When one of my favorite writers, Henry David Thoreau, would walk into town, he experienced his neighbors' talk about other people, local events, and the news as gossip.
When Thoreau had what he called "a surfeit of human society and gossip," he'd return to his cabin in the woods for peace and renewal.[2] And that was before radio, television, phones, social media, and stories of celebrities and political personalities.
Gossip on the media assaults us with noisy trivia, plunging us into chronic stress. And the cycle continues. When we're feeling stressed, we often seek distraction in online gossip.
Over 150 year ago, Thoreau realized, "Our life is frittered away by detail.. . Simplify. Simplify." [3] To restore our peace of mind in this busy, noisy world, we need to simplify.
Here are some possibilities:
- You can recognize the allure of online gossip, then STOP to ask yourself, "Do I really need to know the latest about some celebrity or political personality?"
- When you need to take a break, instead of being distracted by social media and sucked into mindless gossip, look out your window at the bright blue sky. Or better yet, step outside. You might even walk around to increase your circulation and raise your mood. Or you can look up at the sky, take a deep mindful breath and slowly release it.
Did you know that taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling—diaphragmatic breathing—can stimulate your vagus nerve and activate your parasympathetic nervous system, relieving stress and returning you to a state of calm? It's a simple stress reliever you always have with you.
I invite you to join me in this simple practice right now.
- Close your eyes if you wish and take a long deep breath in through your nose, hold your breath briefly for a count of 5, then breathe out through your mouth and say to yourself "I am calm, I am peaceful."
- Once more, take a long deep breath in through your nose, hold your breath briefly, then breathe out through your mouth and say to yourself "I am calm, I am peaceful."
- Now feel yourself more calm and peaceful, right here and right now.
Whenever you feel stressed, you can use this simple breathing technique to return to a calmer, more peaceful state.[4]
I wish you joy and peace on the path.
References
[1] Oxford English Dictionary. (2024). "Gossip." https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=gossip
[2] Thoreau, H.D. (1999). Walden. New York, NY: New American Library. Quote in Chapter 9, "The Ponds," p. 138. Originally published in 1854.
[3] Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," p. 73.
[4] Breathing practice adapted from Jordan Friedman's wonderful "Quick Calm" practice. For more insights on stress management, see https://www.thestresscoach.com/about