Never in the history of calming down has anyone ever calmed down by being told to calm down. I have tried to find a source to attribute that quote to, but so far I haven’t been able to pin down a definitive origin – if you have some leads please provide them in the comment section below!
I got to thinking about what I would do next time someone is riled and needs to find a way out…and then it came to me. What don’t we tell people to calm up. It makes more sense to ‘rise above’ the quagmire of whatever you’re in, and it reflects the higher state of being that the calm mind is said to attain.
So, this post is not so much a poem for you to ponder (to be honest, it’s bit too twee for my liking). Rather, I propose to you the concept of calming up.
Calm up
Find a way to take a breath
Give yourself a second’s rest
Imagine you are floating into the stratosphere
Rising above the trouble that exists down here.
The darkness of space
Offers an embrace
Of pure silence
A moment to find balance –
New (self-protective)
perspective.
Whenever you’ve had enough
Just remember to calm up.
Angele Toomey Poetry 