Conversation topics to get through the sheltering at home and coronavirus.
On Gratitude During Tough Times (Aka Coronavirus Thoughts)
On Fun Things to Do When Stuck at Home
On Fear During the Coronavirus
Oh man, fear can be a beast! It can get right on in there, take over, and control everything. If we let it.
Fear is our most primal emotion. Absolutely necessary for survival. Yet, we live in a time when there’s actually the least amount of threat to our survival in history. Still we experience the highest levels of fear and stress.
On Life and Death
In the last week a lot of people have given some extra thought to death. And to life. Neither of which the average person thinks much about on the regular. We all logically know that we’re alive and that someday we’ll die, but part of us also believes in immortality. It can’t happen to us. It can’t happen to our loved ones. Not now anyway.
On Service to Others
Every single year, the third Monday in January is a day to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy. Most often, I hear people talk about how excited they are to have this day off work or school. While you can’t hate on that, the day is actually the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service. This means that the MLK Day of Service is intended to be a "day on, not a day off." According to the Corporation for National & Community Service, the day is meant to “empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King's vision of a ‘Beloved Community.’”
On a Resolution for a New Decade
So here we are again. Another new year. In fact, a brand new decade. And to celebrate, another new year’s resolution post. I’ve shed light on different ways to set resolutions. I’ve also touted self-acceptance as the only resolution you need.
This year I’m going to revisit 2018 and a new year’s resolution I failed miserably at. Okay, maybe fail is a bit strong. Or at least miserably is. But “being” is something that continues to be more of a challenge in my life than I’d like it to be (See what I did there!). So much so that I decided to make it my 2020 resolution theme. Perhaps for this entire decade. Probably the rest of my life.
A Few of My Favorite Things in 2019
And you get a trip around the world! And you get a trip around the world! And you get a trip around the world! Okay, not really, but I’m imagining what will happen when I have Oprah-like status. In the meantime, if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping or are looking for some things to entertain you over winter break or in 2020 here are my 2019 recs:
Mindful Monday: How to Reflect
We often think of mindfulness as only focusing on exactly what’s happening in the present moment. However, the definition that’s used in mindfulness research is “the self-regulation of attention with an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.” This is helpful because at times it’s necessary for our attention to be focused on the past and/or preparing for the future. If we never reflect on our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and experiences, we’d never learn from them. And if we never thought about our hopes, dreams, and plans for the future we’d have nothing to live for.
On Hygge: The Winter 2019 Edition
I know it’s technically still autumn and here on the southern California coast, autumn is about as winter as we get, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been winter hyggeing hard since Thanksgiving. I’m also one of those people who refuses to recognize the winter holidays until the day after Thanksgiving (No hating on those who jump right in after Halloween. Whatever makes you happy.) so once that day hits I get my holiday on. And this year I’ve really upped my winter and holiday enjoyment. It’s been one heck of a year and I’m desperately needing the self-care. So here’s what I’ve been up to in hopes it inspires some cozy and joyous good times for you as well.
Mindful Monday: Gratitude Walks
A “gratitude walk” (or run, bike ride, drive, whatever) is like mindful walking, but takes it up a notch. It’s setting the intention to notice things in the moment that you like and appreciate around you as you move.
On Treating Yo' Self... For Free
So I started thinking about how to treat myself without spending as much money. Then I started thinking about how some people literally have zero extra dollars to spend on anything other than the necessities so how can they treat themselves for free. And even if we have that extra money, spending it doesn’t always equal true indulgence. I won’t bore you with the entire thought process, but eventually I got to the place where I started thinking about how we can treat yo’ selves whether we have money or not.
On Kindness
This past Wednesday, November 13th was World Kindness Day. According to Wikipedia, it was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations' kindness NGOs. The Wikipedia page is short and it doesn’t seem like many countries officially observe it, but everyone should because kindness is something we could all use a bit more of.
On PTSD Support for Veterans
Sometimes saying thank you never feels like enough. So this Veteran’s Day I’d like to also be of service. Approximately 11-30% of veterans suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and many more experience other mental health issues. While PTSD is becoming more commonly talked about, many still don’t know much about it and many suffer in silence.
On Goodbyes (How to Mourn Anything and Everything)
This is why mourning is so important, even though it’s not something we talk much about in this larger Western culture. We think of mourning as that thing that happens after a death or the end of a romantic relationship. But mourning is a constant process as we’re always losing things that are important (to varying degrees) to us.
Mindful Monday: How to Accept Things
Last week I talked more about what acceptance actually is. Which is all great and dandy. But how the heck do we do it?
There was a point in my life, before I became an acceptance master. Who am I kidding?! I’m a hard core work in progress on this one.
But there was a point when I didn’t understand this concept in the slightest. So what did I do? What any modern day human does; I googled “how to accept things.” And every other form of that phrase I could think of. I’m nothing if not thorough in my research. But it didn’t help at all. Google failed me! I was no closer to knowing how to accept anything.
On Dirty Laundry: Mental And Emotional Cleansing
So as I washed this laundry - by hand- I felt a little more free with every clean item. And with that freedom came thoughts and inspiration. I thought about how physical dirty laundry is a metaphor for mental and emotional dirty laundry. The thoughts, beliefs, emotions, regrets, resentment, fears that we carry around in the backs of our minds at all times, not dealing with them, not cleaning them out.
Mindful Monday: Acceptance Doesn't Mean Letting Bad Things Happen
Acceptance has been on my mind more than usual lately as I’ve struggled to accept certain things in my life and the world as a whole. I’ve also noticed people around me and society as a whole struggle to accept what is. Through these observations, I realized that even though I’ve mentioned acceptance in many of my writings, I’ve never actually defined it or gone into much depth as to what I mean when I say acceptance.
On How to Halloween Harder: An Ode to Halloweens Past
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays ever (Tied with or just behind Thanksgiving. I can never decide.). The opportunity to be someone or something else, spiking that adrenaline with a little (or big) scare, and candy. Lots of candy. Also, it usually doesn’t come with the same loaded issues other holidays bring up. It’s just plain fun.