When It Feels Like Groundhog's Day

Groundhog's Day this year will be on February 2nd; only a few weeks away. It's been a long standing tradition to watch for the groundhog and determine if he has seen his shadow; forecasting whether or not we will have six more weeks of winter. When I think of Groundhog's Day I think of the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. In the movie Bill Murray's character was stuck in time. Every morning his alarm would go off and he would re-live the SAME day over and over and over. After everything many of us have gone through in 2020 and now heading into this year it's no wonder some people feel like they have been living through a similar scenario.

The Covid pandemic has taught us to wear facial masks, social distance by six feet, and have many of our family gatherings virtually. Everyone has experienced the last 10 months differently. Some have been homeschooling their children or supervising their virtual studies. Some have been working remotely and gotten extremely comfortable working in sweats and slippers; many haven't worn 'real' clothes in months. Some have gone out to work every day, but with their environment feeling extremely different and a lot quieter and lonelier.

It's gotten to the point for a many people where the awkward silence follows the automatic questions of 'What did you do yesterday?' or 'How are you?' Every day seems to run into the next. I've had some people tell me when I call them, 'Sorry I haven't called, I just don't have anything new to say.' Not a good situation to be in, for sure.

When I don't feel like talking either I try to keep busy with something else. Over the last several months I have indulged in 'hobby' time more than any other time in my life. If more than three days goes by and I haven't worked on a painting, I purposely add it to my To Do list. Taking time for myself has become a necessary priority. Trying to keep my mind focused and busy helps me to not feel like I am slipping down into an unwanted rut.

Try not to dwell on all that has changed around us and what uncertainties lie in front of us. Focus on the here and now. It may not seem like it some days, but we really have come a long way. We will tackle whatever we are faced with because we have to. We are resilient that way.

What have you done to take care of yourself?

Don't Let Stress Win

Has anyone besides me noticed how fast life is going these days? We rush in traffic. We scramble to get out the door on time. There are days we look at the clock and frown because it's only 8:30 p.m. and we're too tired to do anything else with our day. When I was a child I thought that days were endless. We would go outside to play in the summer after breakfast, come back in for lunch and head back out on our bicycles to find a friend in the neighborhood. By the time dinner rolled around you were either calling your mom from a friend's house to see if you could stay for dinner or bringing someone home with you.

 

Somewhere along the line we grew up and life got complicated ... with school, homework, jobs, children, parents, and insurmountable amounts of responsibilities. Now trying to find that 60 minutes needed to cut the grass, work in the garden, do the laundry or grocery shopping, or even just take a walk becomes something that needs to be scheduled or added to the To Do list. Not to say that all days and weeks have come to that, but it does seem to happen more frequently.

 

Not having the time (or the energy) to do the things you want for pleasure, for your health, for creativity, to stimulate your mind, for your family, or just for yourself and your sanity can be stressful. Stress is a nasty word; it means we're allowing 'something' to get in the way of how we live our lives and we're letting 'something' control us. Stress isn't always as simple as making a choice to do or not do something. Often stress is a mere by-product of many other things. I've always been a firm believer that choices are the one thing we can control in our lives, but life can still throw you curve balls and those curve balls can often come from other people and their choices. The trickle down effect and how much those curve balls distract you and weigh on you and how you are able to live your life can be the cause of unwanted stress.

 

So what can we do about it when our choices aren't enough? Great question! If I had the answer or if it was that simple I could devote myself to helping A LOT of people. In the mean time, we must learn to take life one day and one moment at a time. We handle what we can, when we can. We find ways to lighten the load, to not try to carry it all ourselves, to be more vocal when we need help, and we listen to our gut. No one knows what YOU need better than YOU. Don't give up trying to find a balance in your life. Don't give up on trying to get your joy back.

 

What has you stressed out these days?

 

In the mean time, hold on to these little nuggets of wisdom ...

 

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.

~ Ovid ~

 

God didn't do it all in one day.

What makes me think I can?

~ Author Unknown ~

 

Stress is the trash can of modern life -
we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly,

it will pile up and overtake your life.

~ Terri Guillemets ~





Transitions Aren't Always Easy

Do you ever feel like a sailboat that has a ripped sail? One minute you're smoothly gliding along the water with the sun gleaming down from overhead and then next minute you have a rip in your sail and your boat is forced to switch directions? Whether you have a boat or not, just about everyone experiences that feeling at one time or another. The bigger question is: How do you handle it? Do you go with the flow (pardon the pun) and be adaptable or do you let the obstacle stop you dead in your tracks?

Not all transitions are going to be smooth. Life throws us all kinds of challenges every day. If they were easy and avoidable they wouldn't be called challenges. We're all human and we experience things like separation, sickness, loneliness, debt, stress, and doubt. I like to think that God never gives me more than I can handle. Obstacles and challenges can often be thought of as character tests. Maybe God is testing our faith or maybe we're testing our own strength and character. Maybe we need to dig deep and see just what we're made of.

Whatever your challenge or transition is today how are you coping with it? Are you making progress? Do you need some help or someone to talk with? Maybe your week is going great (and I hope it is); but take a minute and look around you. How is your spouse or your child or your neighbor getting along? Do they seem to be mulling something over? Maybe just asking them how their week is going is all they need to let them know they're not alone.