Here are the things that have been helping me. What has been helping you? I want to know! I want to hear what you've discovered, what's been beautiful, what's been hard, all of it!
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| Artist: @asjaboros |
12 things that have been helping me
1. Morning Pages
If you haven't read The Artists Way, I highly recommend it. The main thing I've taken from reading it is her morning pages. Every morning I wake up and write three pages worth of whatever comes to mind. It's like a brain dump. I try not to reach for my phone, but instead reach for my journal. This has made the world of difference in my daily life. I am kinder to myself and others. I remember my dreams. I have wisdom flowing out of me, that I need to hear. It has been one of the best things I have done for myself lately and I highly recommend it.When I am struggling in life, my instinct is to use the tools I know I have to help cope - journal, meditate, talk to a therapist, etc. But I find that the pressure of writing in a journal b/c I know I SHOULD, that I must write about THAT THING that's bugging me, is forced and I end up never doing it. But, the Morning Pages do not have that caveat. You literally write about anything. And of course things you're worried about or struggling with will naturally come out.
2. Meditation
Right now the Chopra Center is offering a 21 day free guided meditation and it's all about HOPE. How perfect. Also, Thich Nhat Hanh (the founder of the Buddhist monastery Deerpark in Escondido) is running a free Mindfulness Wisdom Summit for the next 5 days.3. Eating Healthy
Sounds like an obvious one but I have been diving even more than usual into making super nutritious, beautiful food. I have recently found @rainbowplantlife to be a wealth of inspiration. I've also been doing Noom thanks to Sassy Stiletto's recommendation. And while yes, I have lost weight - the thing I love about it even more is how many more fruits, veggies and whole grains I've been eating. I thought I ate a lot of them before! If you have Noom questions let me know.4. Walks
I've been going for daily walks around my neighborhood and it's been lovely. Definitely recommend getting outside to get some vitamin D and get your steps in. With proper social distancing of course!5. Hoop or Dance Everyday
Put on your favorite up-beat song and hoop! Or dance! Even if it's only for 5 minutes. It reminds you why you're alive! Here's a fun playlist of my favorite upbeat songs to hoop and dance to.6. Hobby
Find something you've always wanted to do and do it. Have you always wanted to knit? Cook? Paint? Learn a new language? A new musical instrument? Dive right in, you might find you never want to come back up for air. Take a class. Find online tutorials. Find the online community who's into your new-found passion and connect. My current obsessions are sewing and photography. Are they yours too? Email me back and geek out with me!7. Don't read everything about it, every day
I made the mistake of reading super scary, sobering articles right when I woke up and it ruined my whole day. I certainly stopped doing that! Obviously it's important to stay updated and know what we can and cannot do on lockdown but I don't recommend starting out your day with despair.8. Do and don't do
I freaking love checking things off my to do list. I live for that sh!t. The over-achiever in me instantly decided I wanted to make sure that every thing on my current To Do Lists were done by the time we are out of quarantine. I like my ambition! :) I am definitely trying to stay productive but also trying to be gentle with myself about it. We are going through a lot and we deserve to be kind to ourselves, now more than ever.9. Finances
Currently every way my companies were planning to continue on as companies has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Maybe yours too. Maybe you've been laid off. Wow how scary! How are we going to survive? One thing that has helped me a lot is getting a real picture of our finances. I figured out what exactly we're subscribed to each month and which things we can live without for a couple months until things go back to normal. Again a simple, maybe obvious thing to do, but it's helped my peace of mind to know exactly where we're at.10. Gratitude
Every day Bags and I make sure to tell each other how grateful we are to have each other through this crisis. How we have a roof over our heads, we have food and enough saved money to last us for at least a little while. A warm bed, You know the little things in life :)11. Therapy
This one has helped me go through what was the roughest year of my life, 2019. Which will now be referred to as #TheDarkness - haha! There are lots of low-income options in San Diego (let me know if you need that info). Also if you don't want to leave your house but think you could benefit from therapy. I've heard of Better Help which is an online therapy service. Haven't tried it myself but it could be worth investigating.12. Read
I have been devouring books lately! If you want some good fiction recommendations, let me know. If you are a female in San Diego and want to join the book club I started, let me know. I got a library card which is FREE and has tons of books and audiobooks. Between audiobooks and podcasts, I am thoroughly entertained while going on my morning walks and working on my hobbies.Bonus!
