Blog
12/27/2021 1:27:34 PM
Sometimes you need your friends and family to help you manage
Lately it’s been one thing after another.
In just one week, the following happened: I was betrayed by a beloved friend and was intentionally coughed on (twice) while food shopping. I also watched as rainwater poured into both our dining room and our basement. The basement got so wet that we suddenly had a terrible mold problem.
Good thing friends and family were there to help me cope with the betrayal—one dear friend even listened to me for hours as I cried and ranted. My husband and I dealt with the coughing incident by filing a police report and, after numerous phone calls from us, the market banned the offending shopper. A roofer, handyman, and a wonderful friend helped to resolve the water-in-the-house issues.
Life is beautiful a good portion of the time, but sometimes it feels just terrible. There’s no reason to be surprised that shit happens, but there are plenty of reasons to try to be prepared for it when it does.
Have a wonderful 2022, however you celebrate it. I’ll be welcoming the new year in with a brand-new box of fifty N95 masks. I’m hoping that the global need for them decreases as the year wears on.
11/1/2021 2:54:35 PM
I noticed the guy who butted in line behind me when I was waiting for a train at the end of a long day. A few minutes later, I wasn’t surprised when he crashed into my back with his suitcase. But I was surprised when he told me that I needed to “take a breath” because I’d glanced back at him to see who had bumped into me. I desperately wanted to tell him where he could put his misplaced hostility.
Of course I didn’t. All of that free-floating anger that’s in the air these days (and in America, it’s combined with the availability of guns) has multiplied to the point that sometimes—only sometimes—I’m scared to speak my mind. So instead of reflecting his anger back at him, I did what he’d told me to do. I took a breath.
Emotions are catching, and it was hard to control myself from giving it right back to Mr. Butt-in-Guy. At least to some degree, I can control how people react to me by controlling my demeanor. I’d rather not live in a world that’s filled with anger and hostility, so I try to not give it out. Even though I didn’t have the satisfaction of telling that guy what I thought of his behavior, I’m probably right in assuming that his world is far more angry and hostile than is mine.
7/27/2021 3:15:54 PM
What a stressful time we live in! I make a point of taking care of my mental well-being by exercising, getting out in nature, and keeping in touch with friends. I also read a TON of self-help books and then try out their suggested techniques. Early terrible experiences with therapy turned me away from that particular form of help. But through decades of reading and experimenting with the methods that I’ve learned from books, I’ve been able to keep the demons at bay and the depression away. It works for me!
11/9/2020 2:28:05 PM
There’s been nothing but stress the last little while. Eight months into the pandemic and there is no end in sight here in the US, then waiting to hear the election results last week—I can’t remember ever feeling so stressed. Good thing I have a routine. It has saved me from losing my marbles.
Wake up at 5:30AM
Meditate
Drawing practice
Breakfast
Studio time
Snack
More studio time
Walk
Lunch
Computer work—writing, photo processing, working on my website
Yoga or trampoline or both
Dinner
