After a few rough nights of sleep, my brain is bouncing down a more negative track than I enjoy. So I’m doing a little light comfort blogging. A few bad dreams, a little peri-menopause-induced insomnia, and more late night doom scrolling than is good for anyone and I need a perspective shift.
So I’m going to write myself to one. Writers are transformation creators and healers and paradigm shifters, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Onward to a sweeter, less panicked, less anxious view of the day and of life and of the world!
Let’s start with some self-recognition. Because if you don’t recognize yourself, who will?
I got myself out of bed - good job, Amber! Started a fire - nicely done on not losing your ever-loving snit when the wood-burning stove door wouldn’t open, Amber! I even did last night’s dishes - PARADE OF GLITTER-FLINGING GIRAFFES FOR YOU, AMBER! After this impressive burst of productivity, I’ve made a nest in front of the fire, put extra maple syrup in my cacao, and fired up my blog for this experience of mental and emotional transfiguration.
As I was doing the dishes, I started talking to myself. This is healthier than it sounds, because I was saying things like “I plan on having a good day today” and “I am open to magic today” and “I am ready for good things to happen today.” It helps more than you might think.
The amount of work it takes to stay in a good mental space is mind-boggling. Sometimes circumstances support you - you had a good night of sleep, your hormones are doing the right things, or something nice just happened. That’s when it’s so much easier to keep your brain and emotions on a good-feeling track. But sometimes, circumstances just aren’t helping you out. So you have to talk to yourself in the kitchen.
Other things I do to help myself shift into something that feels better, things I will probably do a bit later, are morning pages (see Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way), tapping (look up ‘emotional freedom technique’ for more on that), writing out my intentions, doing some stretches and weight lifting, eating a nice breakfast (I made an apple crumble earlier this week that is delightful with a couple of pork sausages), and trying to convince the cats to cuddle with me. Breathing deeply, moving, writing, cleaning, anything to shift the energy around.
I’m doing my best to appreciate how truly lovely my life is, to keep myself on a steady course so that I can help in the ways I’m able.
Appreciation, pleasure, and love are some of the most powerful ways to shift, but it can take some work to get there sometimes. It takes practice. There was a long time when I struggled to access any of those things, and it was scary. So now I’m doing everything I can, as often as I can, to stay in the habit of feeling good.
Feeling good is a revolutionary act, my friends.