Is the R.E,M. song It's the End of the World as We Know It looping through your mind like it is mine? If it wasn't maybe it is now. In the past 6 weeks I have gone from mapping out plans for the rest of the year to wondering if a previously simple decision to go shopping could now cause the other shoe to drop. Emotions cycle throughout the day in a dizzying pace as adrenaline puts me through the paces of fight, flight or freeze. I know that as humans we are not designed for the constant flood to our system that a pandemic in the age of social media is likely to create. Yes, it may be the end of the world as we know it but also right now I want to remember that I, also like the song, feel fine.
Today, is a beautiful Spring day and I am giving myself a break from worrying about what will be thrown my way tomorrow, next week, next year.
Now more than ever, we have to use any coping strategies in our tool box to capture any positive feelings we may have--a sense of joy, happiness, wellbeing, satiety, engagement, hope...and relish them to the fullest. Not just eating, but truly trying to taste all the flavors that are present in the food. Not just seeing but noticing the fine details. Not just hearing but listening to each sound that makes up the ambient soundtrack to our every day life. Maybe the moments will be fleeting but noticing them and paying attention to the moment will bring it meaning.
The photo here is of a half blown dandelion puff. Dandelions, often considered weeds, have always brought me joy. When I see one, I remember all the lovely times I have tried to release it completely to the wind in order to earn a wish. The young girl in an Oklahoma pasture became to a young adult recapturing innocence in Japan and in due course became an middle-aged adult that still delights in stolen moments of folly.
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