The Longest Year.
Hey friends. We have somehow made it almost to the end of September, 2020. I don’t know what we will think in years to come when we look back on this year.
Will it feel like we have discovered some great truths about ourselves and human-kind? I don’t know. I know many people are disappointed this year by others, but I must ask you, have you ever been able to control them in any other year? I know that people expected this year to go differently after finding out we were in a pandemic, but really, the last time people saw a pandemic was in 1918, and we didn’t have the same reporting skills, social media or technology of any sort back then. So that being said, I want to focus on what we can control, not what is out of our hands at this moment.
This year has shown us who we are and what we want in our lives, and what we don’t want. I am trying my hardest to learn a few things about myself and my will power, so I thought I’d share with you a few things I have learned in this very long year.
I have learned that you can’t trust all the news. Shocking, I know, but I knew this before. I want everyone to always check sources. The little links on the articles, the footnotes, the source, and then do your research and think, does this make sense? Is it true? Does it feel true based on what I know? This is common sense, not political. You can read any article out there today and the author would obviously want you to see their point of view. That’s the truth. So just be careful what you share if you haven’t checked into it.
I have learned that fear can be a motivator, but it can also crush you to a frozen state of mind, and that’s not helpful for anyone. If this pandemic lasts until next year as is predicted, what are you doing for your mental health? Please make it a point to get outside, do the yoga (at home is fine, and it’s not scary), write, paint, dance, sing, and call people. If you are worried about visitors because you are immune compromised, ask them to sit outside 6 feet away from you and just chat. It’s up to you how you live this year out and what we decide to do for next year. We can live in fear, or we can try our hardest to say, okay, what ways can we start thinking outside of the box?
Communicate. Don’t project. Look. I get it. I have a love/hate relationship with peopling that surprises most. I do actually love people…until I don’t. I have a hot, angry side that just flashes into a bonfire. A giant-ass bonfire if I’m going to be honest. But right now, I am trying to remove the kindling, the gasoline, the extra wood and just stop throwing logs on. I see so many people out there trying to start these bonfires with others. People they are even supposed to be “friends” with over their views, how they want to vote, who they want to love, if they are following the rules as others think they should. It’s exhausting. When did we care so much what other people thought or did? How about if we communicate in a nice manner and try to understand where they are coming from? When we project our expectations on others, our views, and our ways, it doesn’t end well.
Breathe. Stop holding it all in. Unclench your jaw. Just breathe. Acceptance isn’t easy. When we fight it, we hold onto stress. I just ask that in this long year, and possibly, who knows, into the next, we take a moment to write the word breathe on a sticky note and post it everywhere. Breathe darling. Breathe.
Play outside. I have been playing in dirt for as long as I can remember and probably before that. I love nature so much it seems unnatural to me to be inside for any given period of time. I literally start to feel restless. But if you are someone who isn’t sure about being outside, start by walking a bit, then puttering around your yard or buying a few succulents (plants are gateway drugs to more plants), and before long you will have the outside in. But remember to stop and smell the roses…or bird watch.
There’s so much more I want to tell you about how much I understand this year has been devastating for many people I know. Living with invisible diseases and trying to live your life during a pandemic has been like the scene in The Neverending Story where Atreyu loses Artax in the Swamp of Sadness…but REMEMBER. That’s because he chose to think of those things. And then traumatize all of us from the 80’s.
If I can give you a little hope for today, no matter what stage of life you are in, we always have the power to change our perspective. Always. Until the very end. If you like what I wrote today, and you want to learn more about how to change your perspective, please join us in our online community for people who think too much, the Head|Heart|Health Club.
Read more here:
- Facing Our Demons and Kicking Ass
- Understanding What it Means to Have a Dark Night of the Soul
- The Energy of Hate
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