Pendulum swings. Yesterday I focused on gratitude – the need to stop and pay attention to things that are going well in my life. I continue to do that. At the same time, today has been a typical example of my swings during this pandemic. Yesterday, my pendulum swung into a more positive and thoughtful …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 126
Gratitude. In the midst of struggle, I often lose sight of things that are right in front of my face. I spiral into dark places and begin to feel that old negativity bias firing up and getting ready to lead me off into places best left behind. Today, I woke up with a hint of …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 125
The myth of Sisyphus. Although I don’t consider Wikipedia to be the best of resources, I do find that some entries are accurate enough to quote. Today, I find myself thinking about Sisyphus. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about him: In Greek mythology Sisyphus or Sisyphos (/ˈsɪsɪfəs/; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος Sísuphos) was the king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He was punished for …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 124
Angsty teenagers. Yesterday, I received an email from one of my favorite online yoga instructors, Schuyler Grant. As part of an introduction to a 10-day, free online yoga series for onecommune.com, she wrote a brilliant post about her own struggles during this pandemic. One of the paragraphs particularly stood out to me: No amount of …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 123
Tidying up. I am not sure that the KonMari method of decluttering is perfect for me. In some ways, I think Marie Kondo is a bit too extreme. Still, there are some valid points in her work. For instance, last week I did the clothing decluttering exercise. I took every single article of clothing I …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 122
Productivity. Most of my life, I have relied on my own grit and self-awareness to help me through rough times. I have always admired friends who see therapists because it shows a level of commitment and an understanding of their needs. At the same time, I always said to myself, “That’s not for me. If …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 121
Equanimity. Kindness. Wonder. Adventure After yesterday’s meltdown, I have had to do a tremendous amount of soul-searching and introspection to get myself into a better space. The trigger for the meltdown was so minor that my tremendous implosion/explosion was frighteningly out of proportion. That tells me I am dealing with a lot of pent-up energy …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 120
Meltdown. I suppose it’s not a surprise that I have finally had a meltdown. This Coronacoaster experience doesn’t lend itself to a sense of calm and peace and tonight I finally had a moment of “snapping” at something. Let’s set the stage. I write tons of grants for my job. That in itself can be …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 119
Adrenal fatigue. The medical community considers “adrenal fatigue” to be a fake, pseudo-scientific concept. Well, they can believe whatever they choose to believe, but I happen to subscribe to the belief that adrenal fatigue exists. Many of the symptoms associated with the concept are prevalent in my life right now. Excessive tiredness, cravings for salt …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 118
What day is it? This is not the first time in the past seventeen weeks that I have lost track of time. I know I’m not the only one who has moments of confusion around the day of the week – let alone the hour of the day. It’s not that every day has the …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 117
Vengeful cats. All day yesterday, I felt utterly exhausted. Not just slightly tired – completely out of gas. There’s really no specific reason for this. I got plenty of sleep and it seemed to be fairly restful sleep. The weather turned slightly cooler, at least for a day, so I wasn’t suffering from heat and …
Sparkling Isolation – Day 117
Vengeful cats. All day yesterday, I felt utterly exhausted. Not just slightly tired – completely out of gas. There’s really no specific reason for this. I got plenty of sleep and it seemed to be fairly restful sleep. The weather turned slightly cooler, at least for a day, so I wasn’t suffering from heat and …