by Jackie Woodside

[This article originally appeared on Huffington Post on 12/25.]

Busy is the new rich. We have come to equate being busy, overwhelmed and living in chaos with the notion that, “I am important. I matter!” It feels like a fast moving stream, and we are unconsciously being swept away!

Life is so rich, stimulating and amazing; opportunities and activities are everywhere. It’s like being a child at the carnival where everything looks exciting and inviting. While being awake and aware of life’s beauty makes it delicious and full, pursuing every possible ride at the fair makes life unmanageable. How do we live with that tension between passion and what is humanly possible to explore, experience and enjoy? We need to learn to calm the chaos in our lives because too much of anything — even if it’s great — is still too much.

I first learned this with my grandmother’s fudge. I loved grandma’s fudge. It was beyond delicious. But one afternoon, when all of the adults were busy doing other things, I ate a whole plate of it. Let’s just say that it went from being a “good thing” to a “lesson learned.”

We are living in a time when opportunities are endless and yet rather than everyone feeling energized and stimulated, what we hear over and over again is how overwhelmed, and chaotic everyone feels. Why is this? Let’s go back to grandma’s fudge: Too much is too much.

There is another way to be in the midst of the river of life! Here are five ways to calm the chaos in your mind and your life:

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