What if Stillness Becomes Stagnant?

The Density of Ideas 9/24

I stood barefoot in the grass outside my friend’s apartment, toes wiggling threads of grass between them. I was grounding—a meditation practice I used as part of trauma recovery to help me remain present and calm. The lawn was warm beneath my feet but the air was cool— faux fall is upon us in the South.

Grounding is literally how it sounds: touching the ground with your feet, butt, back. A floor will work; the earth is best. When I’m overstimulated or overwhelmed or any other kind of “over,” grounding brings me back into my body and back into the present moment.

At present, my life contains a lot of uncertainty. At present, it’s easy to slip into future casting and catastrophizing. At present, it’s easy to become anxious. Last week I had a