Learning To Just Be
Written By: Grace Mintun
Date: April 2, 2026
Ian Keefe via UnsplashCalmness is not a state of mind that comes naturally. Nature is beginning to buzz around again, and as the world is waking up, time is starting to move faster and faster—and the world was already moving pretty dang fast. Wars and laws and people not taking a breather.
So how do we stay calm in a world that is not?
It isn’t just about staying busy and ignoring the news, which is a very common reaction. Putting our heads in the sand may stop the external noise, but it doesn’t stop the inward turmoil that has worked its way inside us.
How do we really internalize that awe and wonder of seeing the world through fresh eyes again that always comes with the spring? How do we focus on seeing the new growth and not fixate on the old ideals of negativity and the horrific events that follow?
The real answer is you don’t.
You don’t learn how to tune it out, you don’t learn how to positively think your feelings away, you don’t learn how to create a nice little underground oasis for your head that you have conveniently stuck into the sand.
You move through it. The only way out is through.
But “I’m sick of fighting the good fight,” you say. Then take a rest. That’s what winter was after all, a time of hibernation before the world comes alive again. Learn to move with the seasons as we wake up from winter’s slumber and face the world rebirthing itself into spring, coming alive again with the flora and fauna.
The thing about rest is you always wake up. This isn’t some “Year of Rest and Relaxation,” a book about a woman’s year of doing nothing and expecting her perspective to change. You have to take action to make the change you wish to see. The new view you wish to see the world with. The new way you want the world to turn.
We can’t have the whole world change all at once, but we can change the way we interact with it. We can create new boundaries. We can set limits on how much we view all the negativity being thrown at us from every which way.
You can work on your inner peace, your inner world, your inner renewal.
Just as the outside world moves from winter to spring, so does our inner world. We shed the old skins that no longer fit us and step into new shells that will eventually become husks once again as we shift and grow and stretch to fit our new entities of belief and truth.
What are actionable ways we can do that?
Really look into what you believe. Connect with others who want to stretch and grow into new ways of thinking with you. Don’t just sit in an echo chamber, but don’t sit in the firing range of awful ideals either. There is a happy medium to be found.
Center yourself with meditation and really focus on how you want to move through life and the impact you want to leave on others. How do you want people to feel when they interact with you? What do you want the legacy of yourself to be? People will rarely remember exactly what you say, but will always remember how you made them feel. How do you want to come across? How can you take actionable steps to get there?
Engage in grounding activities out in nature. Embrace the changing seasons and let them influence how you interact with the world.
No matter how you go about being more present while moving through the seasons and being calm during a time when that feels impossible to reach, I hope you know you’re not alone. Being is a state all of us are in, but it's one we're all still learning about, too. It is constantly changing and evolving. Take the time to learn how to just be.
Written by: Grace Mintun
About the author description: Necessary Behavior’s Editor in Chief and Creative Director!
Tags: Calm, Meditation, Peace
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