When the World Is Upside Down and Inside Out

TOPSY TURVY upside down world

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EPISODE 107 – PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Hi there, welcome back to Kelly Martin Speaks. I’m your host Kelly Martin and this is episode 107. 

So right now it probably feels for many of you listening like the world has turned upside down and inside out. Nothing feels familiar, nothing seems in its right place, nothing is working perhaps the way it once did. In fact, it probably feels more confusing, more uncomfortable than you’ve ever had it before.

This is because the world as we know it is changing on an epic level.

I keep hearing the terms we have to get used to the ‘new normal’ and many people say they hate that term. I don’t think normal is going to be here for quite some time and when we say normal, what do we really mean? We tend to mean comfortable, certain, known and something we are used to.

As I said a little while ago, the world is going through many streams of chaos, many waves of fear, yet within this chaos and fear are great opportunities for change also. In fact for real long lasting change we often have to go through an upside down and inside out world

If everything were still or calm, nothing would change and perhaps as a species, on a huge level many of us have been crying out for change. Maybe we wanted change to be more comfortable, maybe we hoped we would be in control a bit more, but that’s not the case with big change. It comes as a whirlwind or a strongly penetrating current of water that cleans away everything in its path to make way for the new.

Believe it or not, at this time, abundance, creativity and beauty are awakening, but we may not be able to see this side of the topsy-turvy world right now.

Right now, you probably don’t know.

You may not know who you are, what is becoming, how to live at ease.

You may feel incredibly uneasy and uncertain.

Funnily enough I know people who have managed to get back to a weird normal during this climate of change. I am not entirely sure this is the purpose of it. With people meeting with family and friends, going on holiday, all those things that serve as a distraction, at times they still do. It always surprises me because I find this time very unnerving, strange, definitely uncertain and it can feel a challenge to keep my balance, to stay grounded. I feel awkward at times, like I am trying to see in the dark or walk through treacle.

Someone sent me a meme on social media recently and it really explained how 2020 feels. It was of an image of the boy Atreyu from the movie The NeverEnding Story. It was comparing to ideas of 2020. The first was how he felt at the beginning of 2020, riding the luck dragon with great enthusiasm and excitement, flying into 2020 on a wave of fun. The second was the actual experience of 2020 where he was in the darkness with his horse, in the swamp and he was stuck in the swamp.

2020 meme NEVER ENDING STORY

I can definitely say that at times this is what 2020 feels like to me.

I miss the ease at doing things, the ease at going out shopping, the ease at flying up to see my mum, wondering when I will next see her. I miss my friend who is staying in her own bubble if safety, but I must accept as I have always been guided to accept, that right now is how it is meant to be, because if it were meant to be otherwise, it simply would.

Like me, you may be struggling right now. I get it I truly do. All we can do is let go, trust that this weird topsy-turvy world is here for a purpose and remember that life is happening even if it doesn’t feel like the life we once knew or even a life we want right now.

At times you will personally feel like you have been tipped upside down and pulled inside out. And the key during this time is to not resist it.

It is when we resist these strange and confusing times that we suffer.

We need to let go of trying to control it, and we need not be afraid because it will all turn out the way it’s supposed to, and that new life, new world maybe exactly what we ordered on a soul level.

At this time we are not only being offered the gift of change but the gift of aliveness. Aliveness feels exhilarating, aliveness feels uncertain and unknown, this is what life is.

Deadness is the known, the certain, the controlled.

We didn’t come into this world to live life as walking corpses, but as fully functioning alive human beings.

We’re no longer on the easy gentle carousel ride but instead we’ve been flung onto a rollercoaster for a time.

The seasons on planet earth turn from winter into spring, spring into summer etc…but for them to do this, they go through the same process we are going through. Everything dies off, changes, is uncertain. We go through what I call the in-between time, that time between summer and autumn, when there is a level of discomfort in the air until we are fully thrust into the new season. We also experience the same thing when we go from darkness into light.

And so right now we are going through darkness or deadness into light and aliveness.

You will be okay; you will handle these changes. Sometimes you may feel like things are falling apart and you can’t cope, but you will cope, even if you get help to cope.

The more your world feels in chaos, the more it feels out of your control, the greater is the change that’s happening for you. This is a good thing, even if it may not feel that way right now.

One thing we all need to remember at this time is that we can find an anchor that will hold us. It can be anything from a daily mindful walk, to meditation, to something that has a routine to it. This will help when the world or your personal world has gone off the rails a bit. I send you my love and please, if you are struggling too much, get help, call a friend or family member, phone your doctor or a mental health helpline. You don’t have to do this alone if this topsy-turvy world is too much for you.

Take care.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Kelly Martin Speaks

If you have a question or topic you are struggling with and would like me to answer on an upcoming podcast episode, please get in touch. Your name will be confidential. EMAIL me at kellymartinspeaks@gmail.com or message me on Facebook via my page Kelly Martin Speaks.

And don’t forget, if you feel that others are passing you by and ‘The Not Good Enough’ voice is screaming loudly, pop by self-compassion books to find out all about my books, including Book 1 ‘When Everyone Shines but You’

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Until next time…bye for now

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Kelly Martin

Kelly Martin, author of ‘When Everyone Shines But You’ is a dedicated writer and blogger who fearlessly explores life’s deepest questions. Faced with a decade of profound anxiety and grief following the loss of her father and her best friend Michael, Kelly embarked on a transformative journey guided by mindfulness, and she hasn’t looked back since. Through her insightful writing, engaging podcasts, and inspiring You Tube channel Kelly empowers others to unearth the hidden treasures within their pain, embracing the profound truth that they are ‘enough’ exactly as they are.

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2 Comments

  1. Laurie
    July 31, 2020 / 10:36 pm

    Hi… interesting you comment on this, because I have been thinking about it just recently. However, the thing I have been thinking is, I have found a sense of “normal” again. Of course it came after 4 months of isolation, and at times fear and total sense of being lost. But then one day I basically just got “fed up” with it all. And decided to heck with this, I am going to just live the best I can in the circumstances. As they “are”. And, as things “are” – became peaceful and normal to me.

    My “world” that I live in – is “ok”. It’s not upside down. It’s not turned inside out. It’s simply just “different”. Much like when we move to a new home, and we are totally lost in our kitchen for a while – because we keep reaching in the cabinet that “used” to hold the drinking glasses. But in the new place, the layout called for putting the glasses in a different cabinet. After a while, we begin to reach into the right place. Because our brain has relearned the new order of things.

    I’ve adapted to, and relearned the new order of ‘life things’. And am at peace with it. For me, that is the definition of “new normal”. Some things change permanently. And we can either sit on the side of the road crying about it, or, dust ourselves off, accept ‘this is the way it is now’… and adjust and begin to be productive again. After sitting stalled out for 4 months I am happy and eager to become productive again. All the past “upside down world” feelings have dissipated out of my brain. I feel right side up…because I adjusted myself to the new “level” factor. Much like some people are actually standing upside down on the earth, but have no concept of it at all. They are right side up as far as they are concerned. I am right side up – for me.

    Have you ever watched any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies? There is a scene in a couple of them, where the pirate ship literally turns completely upside down in the ocean – and becomes right side up, in an alternative world. That’s about how I feel. I’ve accepted the new alternative world I am now living in. Acceptance brings inner peace.

    Yes, there is chaos, anger, and hate out there beyond the personal world of my home; outside of my self. But, as for me and inside my house.. I am in a state of normal. And it feels oh so good to have reached it again! Bottom line I think is that while the outer world circumstances may keep me from doing some ‘things’ I used to do, it can’t keep me from “being me” on the inside of myself. Once I came to that conclusion, and was able to let myself do just that, be me, here in the safety of my home, I again found my mental sense of ‘normal’. It was within me the whole time. No longer defined or dictated by the outer world. At least… that is my answer for me. Each person has to find the answer and ‘normal’ that is right for them. I hope all are able to. Because it feels oh so good.

    • August 4, 2020 / 5:01 pm

      Thanks Laurie, that is beautifully described. My life changes often, sometimes like the swamp, sometimes like the eagle soaring, most of the time I accept what is and flow with the changes. I spoke about this mainly because I was seeing so many struggling too and I wanted to put into words what is happening for many. Chaos is a good thing, confusion too. All part and parcel of wonderful change.

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