Tag: self care

recent joy connections…

Life is exhausting.

I hate to feel that way. And I feel guilty for not being more positive. But life has been hard for many years, and it’s exhausting.

Life being hard is the reason I have to intentionally and deliberately look for joy connections. Seeking little moments of joy didn’t come about because I was happy all the time and seeing joy in everything, it came about due to the necessity of finding ways to keep myself going.

I started the practice years ago, and it continues to this day. Because I need it.

Some of my recent joy connections include…

The very-welcome visitors we have to our little backyard. The rabbits and hummingbirds and lightning bugs and butterflies and red birds (and other birds).

Kitchen radio music with so many songs from the 70s and 80s.

Reading and breathing the fresh air and general porch sittin’ time.

Going for walks with my husband.

Pulling out an old canvas to add new layers. And making time for my personal at-home summer art retreat.

Roaming around YouTube and letting it randomly play old music videos, including part of a 1973 Eagles concert.

Talks with friends.

Bursts of unexpected laughter while watching TV.

These are all joy connections, moments of connecting to joy. Often little things, and often brief, but these things can make such a difference in the course of my day.

What joy connections have you found lately? Look for them. Notice them.

It really can help when life feels exhausting.

❤

it’s still the little things…

I’ve written before about how it’s often the little things that can brighten a day and bring a bit of joy. Little things that can help with continuing to go on, moment by moment, through the difficult days.

It’s the times of taking a walk – whether by myself, or with my husband, or with a friend and her dog. Enjoying the view, the fresh air, the moving of the body, the taking a deep breath and feeling more ease.

It’s the times spent in front of an easel or a journal, playing with paint and being in the moment. Not thinking or worrying, just moving the brush and the paint.

 

It’s the times enjoying the spring blooms. Seeing the beauty of nature. Appreciating the colors.

It’s the times of unexpected delights, like a new bloom on a potted plant that had seemed almost beyond hope until my husband did some sort of green-thumb renewal to bring it back to life.

There are other little things too, filling my days this spring in between my husband’s doctor visits and medical tests. Lots and lots of porch-sittin’ time, enjoying so many absolutely gorgeous days with feel-good temps we’ve had these past weeks. Slowly reading and savoring a good novel. Watching comfort TV shows while cozy in bed. Phone calls and voxes and texts with friends and family. Kitchen-dancing to 70s and 80s music coming from our favorite real-life radio station.

Little things. But big helpers.

What little things come into your days to help you get through? Look for those joy connections. Do those things, even if they seem little or small, that help you.

Sometimes the little things can make all the difference.

❤

 

when anxiety tools aren’t working…

High anxiety has been part of my life for a very long time, and some days are worse than others. And sometimes, those high-anxiety days turn into high-anxiety weeks (or longer). That’s the way it’s felt recently.

There are tools I keep in my metaphorical toolkit for calming and de-stressing. These are things that have proven to be helpful for me over the years, things I turn to time and time again. Things like breathing exercises, prayer, painting, taking walks, tapping, aromatherapy, brain retraining, porch sittin’, watching comfort tv, meditating, and other tools and techniques for quieting an anxious nervous system.

But I’m going to be honest. When my fear is stuck in high gear, the tools don’t always seem to work.

When that happens, I’ve found that it’s best to layer tools. I need to do a combination of different things, and sometimes I have to experiment to find which combination will work on a particular day. And sometimes I have to do this in an off-and-on sort of way because the effects might not last long.

And I’m going to be honest again. If the anxiety is super high, the effects might not only be temporary for me, the effects also might be quite limited when it comes to how calm and less anxious I feel.

But I consider any reduction in the high anxiety to be a positive step.

Do you have a metaphorical anxiety toolkit of techniques you can turn to when feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed? It’s worth it to have one and use it…and if it seems like the tools aren’t working, try layering them.

❤