This profound quote touched me in a very deep way as I was sipping my coffee this morning. Sometimes it feels like “there is nothing we can do” to mend all the darkness around us.
We are mistaken.
We are not powerless.
May we choose to add more light as we move through our day(s) … ✨ Karen ✨
I gave up watching the news a number of years ago. The way it was delivered overwhelmed my highly sensitive system. Some would contend that my decision is socially irresponsible … especially since I am a social worker. I would counter that everything I need to know about global events filters down in my direction. I do NOT need to watch a sensationalized version of the ‘truth’ filled with fear-mongering speculations in order to be well informed about our world.
In fact, research is indicating that levels of depression and anxiety are reaching all time highs. Screen time is collectively exacerbating alarm and generating unnecessary arousal in our neurobiology. Social media is neither calming nor comforting to our nervous systems. Communing with nature, however … IS.
We can best honor our physical, mental and spiritual health and well being by spending more time outside. Invite Mother Nature to cradle your weary soul. Inhale some fresh air and exhale all the noise. Feel the cool breeze caressing your cheeks. Allow a sunrise or sunset to ignite some ‘awe’ within you as it playfully paints the horizon. Behold how the trees teach you about stillness. Let the sky remind you of infinite possibilities. Sense the sun warming your spirit. Notice all the magic in the cloud formations. Just breath deeply into the vast richness offered by this precious planet.
Enjoy a reprieve from the media madness. I bet you won’t regret it.
Karen
P.S. OMG … little did we know that at the time that I posted this meaningful inspiration that our world was about to CHANGE in a way that we never could have expected in a million years. Within just a few months of anticipating that this beautiful vision might become our reality for 2020 … everything blew up.
We learned that an unfamiliar virus called Covid-19 was about to descend upon our lives … and … it was going to shift everything as we knew it to be.
We were about to experience a PANDEMIC. Yes. And … nothing was going to be the same for a very long time … if ever.
At the time, all I could think was … what the hell??? And about three weeks into the pandemic, it occurred to me that this experience could be “a thing”. So, I started blogging my thoughts and reflections and observations of what was appearing on social media. I expected that it would last a few months. After nearly two years of jotting down my experiences and enduring these unprecedented times … all I can say is …. gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
It has been quite a ride … and … nothing much like the vision I held for 2020. As I add this post script, we are well into 2021 and all the ups and downs are not nearly over yet. NO. NOPE. NOT A CHANCE.
I have been participating in a project that asks us to post on social media one thing per day that makes us happy … for 100 Days. It has been a remarkable process because participating in this project has illuminated all kinds of things and brought to my attention so many of the gifts and joys that are part of my usual comings and goings … but … that I would obliviously step right over in my day to day activities.
And because I am accountable to post it publicly each day, my mind and heart are now cued to be looking for the blessings that are before me. I was reminded yesterday morning of how much I enjoy my iTunes … with my unique playlists that I like to listen to as I get ready in the morning … and … that I had a can of evaporated milk in the cupboard when I ran out of fresh cream for my coffee … and … that old clients continue to seek me out … and … that my sister-in-law send a pic from her office window so I could see the intensity of red leaves that had not quite manifest by the time we left the East Coast … and … that I didn’t have to work outside in that horrific 130-150 km hour wind yesterday … and … that my little Square reader can now take debit cards … and … that I had some heartwarming conversations/connections over Facebook around another 100 Days post … and … and … and … and … and …….
Suffice to say … I absolutely LOVE the lens this project has offered me and the richness of experience that I am enjoying as a result. Gratitude really is like a flashlight … helping you see what was already there … giving you eyes to notice that which you might have otherwise missed.
May we remember to turn on the flashlights in our hearts and capture the gifts of each day with deepened awareness. ❤ Karen ❤
The minutes are going to go by anyway.
And the minutes turn into hours.
And the hours turn into our lives.
Let’s consciously and creatively turn those minutes into moments that tickle our hearts!
Let’s not step over the possibility and opportunity in the next 60 seconds, Karen
Live a Great Life Anyway ... 