Mental Wellness Challenge
2022, May 19
Hello Blog…
My last challenge was:
- Laugh – just laugh. If you can, laugh til there’s tears in your eyes….
- Take the time to see. To see a budding leaf or a flower or plant struggling to break through the earth – to see the sun.
- Sing… Sing like nobody is listening – or sing like you have an audience – whatever you desire… but sing.
Hope you laughed out loud, saw the trees in the forest and filled your life with song!
My week or so was OK and I tried to meet my own challenge. I know there were some times where I genuinely laughed hard enough that my sides hurt. It’s interesting that when I am having a really good laugh – I can’t/don’t think about anything… I think… maybe I still do – but certainly the intensity of any other thoughts are diminished.
I have a maple tree in my front yard – I call it Mable the maple… just do… Mable has been having a tough time budding out. It finally “sprung” some buds this week. I find it mesmerizing/fascinating that Mable toughs it out – there’s been some really hard frosts – yet Mable pushes out new growth year after year.
I’m a “garage singer”… LOL… I can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but I sing, hum, whistle when I am “in the zone” and working on my own. I have some tunes that I like to sing – and I’ll belt them out when I am reasonably confident nobody can hear me… sometimes I get caught… and I get a little embarrassed… All good I suppose.
I’ve made it through another week!!! I got here – well, sometimes minute by minute… or hour by hour, but I got here nonetheless.
My headspace, mood is certainly stronger, more positive – even with all of the ‘stuff’ that is going on around me. Something is working… My work? My meds? Longer days? Not certain, likely a combination of everything, but I am absolutely stronger today than I was a week ago, much stronger today than I was in January.
There’s a piece of learning that has come around for me again…. “That which you resist, persists.” Its an acceptance and understanding piece. There’s stuff that’s going on around me that I have no influence over. Some “circumstances” are super charged with emotional connection. Most of those really “HOT” things are the bits and pieces of my experience that I have absolutely zero control over. Can’t influence the outcomes of those circumstances at all… The Ukraine conflict for example. I have zero influence on anything that happens over there… I have come round to understanding again that there’s nada I can do about it. Nada. I have loved ones that have faced and continue to face serious life situations. I have very little ability to influence any of the outcomes of those circumstances… Yet I have been ruminating, worrying, stewing about them… and I am once again reminded (of my own previous learning) that worrying about something I can’t change is like paying interest on a debt I don’t owe… The worry takes resources I need to address other concerns…
There’s a conflict – an internal tension with this idea… I love these folks and I care very deeply for them. So where do I end up. My worry steals energy and resources that can make me stronger and more able to support them. I’m certainly no support to anyone else when I can’t bear my own “stuff”. And there’s the resolution to the tension – “If I can’t deal with my own stuff, how can I possibly support anyone else with their stuff?”
I’m not “good” yet, but I’m better. There’s still some “walking through pudding” feeling – weighty, thick, but I am getting through it.
My patience for irritations is starting to get better as well. I’m not as snarky… edgy. I still tend to be super frustrated by folks who exhibit entitlement… How did my friend put that – “The world needs ditch diggers too…”
It is unfortunate – and I suppose a bit of a sign of the times – I’ve started to get numb with regards to the drama in the news and the world. I don’t put stock into any of the reports in the news. Local, regional, provincial, and federal politics is 100% disgusting – doesn’t matter where or on what side of an issue you stand – the politicians simply can’t be trusted. Jaded view I suppose… yet, I’ve learned that the old adage about a politician’s lips moving and lies seems to prove out more often than not.
Gratitude has played a huge part in my feeling better.
My wellness challenge is:
- Do something unexpected for someone else.
- Give a friend, or a loved one a hug.
- Tell a friend, family member or co-worker that they are an important part of your life.
That’s it, I challenge you.