When It All Seems too Much
An Invitation for this week
Make a list of things that lift your spirits and do one every day.
If at all possible, get outdoors for at least 20 minutes every day -preferably a park, a garden, green space, or near the water.
Look up when it gets dark and see if you can identify a planet, constellation, satellite, and gaze at the moon.
Make a list of people you like who you have not been in contact with and reach out to at least one of them.
Consider the basics:
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Food and water
- The company of others
A Second Invitation
Choose one thing from the basics to focus on this week. Pick the one that needs a little practice and zoom in on what would be of most value to you if you would do that one thing every day. Don’t go overboard. See Examples:
Sleep – Go to bed at the same time every night this week
Food and water – maybe you need more vegetables – add one extra vegetable each day to your plate or two extra glasses of water each day if you are not getting enough. It’s up to you.
You get the picture
Whenever we are struggling, whether it is with illness, caregiving, loneliness, or fractured relationships… it is important to see ourselves playing an active role in our own treatment and our own life. Don’t wait for others to solve our problems. Read, research, ask questions – investigate and take action. Don’t overlook the basics. They appear so obvious and ordinary, yet they are easy to neglect and they play an outsized role in the quality of our everyday life.
Always humor If we orient ourselves towards humor, we can find many opportunities during our day to have a chuckle or a smile. And it simply improves our well-being. It isn’t just joke telling but more often tender storytelling that makes us smile or laugh.
All of these suggestions can fit into our daily lives. Play with them. Make them your own. Enjoy.See what happens.
NOTES
1:) Lord love a duck – for those of you who enjoy ducks here is a five min video of BC’s beautiful ducks. It is also an opportunity to enjoy some of the benefits of nature when you are not able to get outdoors. Watch here.
2:)I Know a Cure for Sadness by Hafiz
“I know a cure for sadness:
Let your hands touch something that makes your eyes smile.
I bet there are a hundred objects close by that can do that.
Look at beauty’s gift to us-
Her power is so great she enlivens
The earth, the sky, our soul.”
3:) Thank you, all of you, for coming by to read these scribblings. I am honoured to have your company. May you not resist the abundance and hopefulness of spring. Where there’s life there is hope, someone said. Warmest wishes, Trudy
Thank you Trudy, thank you moon “ it won’t last forever”. After some despair this morning about “ the too much”, I did not organize and clean the house. I went shopping for an outfit for the occasion. Much more lightness. 🤗
What a great idea, dear Helga! Much better than cleaning. Thanks for your lovely note. Nothing lasts forever, including us.Sing while there’s voice left. As always, Trudy
Ah yes, the abundance and hopefulness of spring – one thing I cannot have too much of 🙂 thank you for the reminder we must take an active role in our own treatment of difficult times. much love, Janice
Thanks dear Janice. And it is a wonderful practice to make sure we also do something you love every single day.Can you imagine a day without a poem?? When we are a friend to ourselves it might even help our sleep. Warmest wishes, Trudy
Trudy – thank you yet again. This whole post resonated with me so much this morning. Almost reached the end of the proverbial rope – diagnosis is fine, but what now? The pain keeps happening and each day I hope for better. I love your list – I try to find one thing to be grateful for and today I will find one thing that will lift my spirits and I will walk in the rain. When things get really bad we all need a reminder to do one thing for ourselves.
Oh dear Pat. I am sorry you are struggling. And, yes!!!doing something everyday that lifts your spirits doesn’t cure anything but it reminds you that you can still find beauty, joy, contentment, awe…even for a few moments. And we don’t want to miss those precious moments. Gentle hugs, trudy
Again this week – as with every week’s thoughtfully created post – you nailed it, my dear friend. Sometimes it just all seems too much and the rabbit hole beckons. Instead of going there, I will look up at the moon and gently remind myself that I won’t feel like this forever. Big hugs, S.
Dear Shelley: So glad you are listening to the moon. Thanks so much, wonderful you, for this thoughtful note. Take heart!! Warmest wishes, Trudy
Covid made me see I needed to get a healthy, compassionate self care routine in place.
So I did!
We’ve had summer almost all winter in the 80s- yearning for cool and cold weather. Wishing you all the happy spring you desire.
Hi Kathryn:thank you for your note.As much as I miss the warmth I do know I can barely handle the hot and humid summers we have in Ottawa. Today on the radio they talked about the excessive deaths caused by heat – many more and more dangerous than from the cold. As Canadians we are known to talk a lot about the weather and constantly want what we don’t have unless you live on Vancouver Island. Haha. I wish for you a cool evening breeze. Warmly, trudy
Beautiful post my friend. Timely, warm and a good reminder. Thank you!! xo
Thank you dear Nancy. Always so kind and thoughtful.
Big hugs,Trudy