Grace Massoud wrote this article in MTV Website:

The entire world is affected right now by the dark and heart-wrenching news. Innocent people are dying and losing their loved ones due to the political wars of their governments, due to senseless hatred. The Lebanese people feel it more potently. We have always suffered the consequences of this never-ending conflict. We’re in it, living in a part of the world where there’s constant turmoil. We are in a high danger zone where at any moment we could become the ones who need saving.

A lot of us are having a really hard time keeping our wits about us, because whatever is going out there is going on in here. Whether we want to or not, we are absorbing the energy and stress all around us. We might be feeling overwhelmed right now, anxious, stressed out, procrastinating, having trouble sleeping, uncertain about how things will unfold. Will we go to war, do we need to stock up on necessities?

We desperately need these 5 ways to bring us back to the light and connect us to something greater than the occurrences of this scary time.

We need to do more of our spiritual practices. Pray for the souls of the deceased and for their loved ones. Pray for the anxious and hopeless. Pray for peace and that our collective light pierce through the darkness. Since the beginning of time, spiritual practices have guided people through the hardest and most disastrous events. They could be as easy as going for a walk and reconnecting with nature and its healing powers. Ditch your phone for a while, look for the beauty outside and show up different amidst the chaos.

There’s this exercise I just learnt called the 10-5 rule. It’s as easy as it is effective. When you’re 10 feet away, look a person, it could be a complete stranger, in the eyes and give them a big ole smile lasting more than 3 seconds. You are signaling to their mirror neurons that you are safe and friendly, and they will mirror your response. Their grin is proof that we are wired for connection. Then at 5 feet, smile again and say hello. Let’s all lead with our humanity and rely on each other to get through this.

Our mental health should be protected at all costs. We can still care and not consume so much violent and bloody content. Let’s show how much we care through our actions instead. Read the news instead of watching it and listening to it. That way we protect our sanity and wits. We stay in the know without inundating ourselves with the news. 

How about we reach out to our friends, especially ones we feel are affected most. We make them feel seen, loved and not alone in this. Even tell them there’s no need to respond to relieve them from the pressure of having to but feeling too overwhelmed to do it. You’re generating light and warmth inside them.

A lighthouse has one job: connection. Be a lighthouse and beam your light in a 360-degree manner. The light is our humanity, our compassion, our heart, our ability to listen, our humor, our warmth. When we’re lost, we just need someone to tell us we’re not lost, that they know exactly where we are and precisely how to get us where we’re going. This empowering metaphor makes us realize that we can play an important role in riding out this dark storm. It’s a gift we give others and ourselves since the fastest way to lift our own spirits is through lifting the spirits of others. It distracts from the worries in our brain to give a helping hand and realize that we have more power than we think. Beat the individual emotional heaviness and take action, make a difference.

Meet despair, sorrow and agitation with hope, love and kindness. Guide people home in this tumultuous storm.