I have a crazy pre-season flu! Spent all day in bed watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I’m not sure how tomorrow will go, either. But you’ll be happy to hear that I meditated anyway, and I’m very cheerful, and working on showing my body compassion and kindess, rather than “suffering.”
Hope everyone is well!
Poetically, it is National Coffee Day today!
I’ve quit coffee a number of times over the years, but now I’ve accepted that there’s a psychological boost to my one cup of coffee in the morning, as much as a physical addiction to caffeine. I love to sit here, watching or reading the news, or writing while I sip my nice hot cup of joe. Cream, two Truvias. I used to be a Sweet N Low girl, but I’ve been making an attempt over the past few years to cut as many chemicals out of my diet as possible — which is ironic since I’m still drinking coffee. LOL But I did quit my very long time habit of drinking diet soda. When I’m not drinking soda, I make iced tea from scratch (I mean I brew from tea bags, not that I grow the tea, of course. 😉 or I drink almond milk. My body can’t handle dairy milk.
Anyway, I want to talk a little bit — or probably a lot — about body acceptance/positivity today. I haven’t posted my long, rambling story about my lifelong war with my body to force it to look like American culture’s ridiculous ideal. I should probably do that to add some backstory to my ongoing struggle to gain the most physical health that I’m able to in this body, with its health limitations. Let’s just say that literally all my life, I’ve had an unhealthy relationship with food. When I was little, I had a heart defect, and I hated eating anything at all. So my parents were thrilled when I could get anything down my tiny gullet, and keep it down.
Hello, all! I’m back! Had a wonderful time in NH and Maine this weekend, eating too much, seeing the sights, and visiting with family. So exciting — my aunt and uncle were celebrating their 50th anniversary, and decided to renew their vows — I got to stand up for my aunt. It was wonderful. I can’t believe that my cousins’ children are all grown up and having children of their own! There were tons of babies there. I really enjoy other people’s babies. 😀
The whole experience reminded me so much of teachings of impermanence. Things change, and it’s all tied to my lessons recently about accepting things the way they are. That means accepting the circle of life. Seeing my family there — my aunt and my dad’s generation growing old, my cousins and I just beginning to feel the effects of age, my second cousins in the prime of their lives. It’s really kind of miraculous!
Don’t worry, I won’t break into “The Circle of Life.”
There were a lot of other lessons to be thankful for over the weekend too.
Will catch up on Monday!
I’m not sure if I should start posts with the 30 Day Challenge entry, or end with them, or make them a separate post. I know my entries get, er… a bit lengthy.
I think maybe I’ll do them last, so they’re easily skipped if not something any readers are interested in.
Today is themed NO THEME. I don’t have a particular point of discussion to share. I did some new small things I’ve been trying. Like, when I get up in the morning now, I do some stretches to warm my body before dealing with my joints. I’ve been drinking two glasses of cold water right when I get up to get my body going (apparently it’s good for the internal organs — I don’t know if it’s true, but… water is good, and because I don’t have a colon, I need more of it, so I’ll just go with it.)
The nicest thing that happened today was when I tried smiling, greeting people, and looking them in the eye when I meet them somewhere. I’ve always tried to be polite, say hi, hold doors, etc., but I always kept my eyes down and didn’t engage. Today, I did, and I can’t believe the difference it made. People were really nice, and I even struck up a conversation with another patient in the waiting room. Positive! Cheerful! I mean, what is the worst thing somebody could have done when I smiled and said “Hi!” Snarl and say, “Go fuck yourself.” Or maybe punch me — but I think that’s fairly unlikely in the nice gym where my PT is held.
Anyway, that was a really nice experience. I’m going to keep it up — who knows who I might meet!
Another new practice might be troublesome in the long run, but I’m adopting it until I feel more solid in my positivity. I’m staying away from places, people, and activities that I know will do nothing but raise my blood pressure. Another character flaw I’ve realized, that directly related to “Stop being a know-it-all,” (have I shared that one yet?) is that I spent a lot of time in the past actively seeking things that made me upset. For instance, politics.
Let’s start with the 30 Day Challenge first, because then I’ll move on to a different kind of challenge.
Three Things I’m Thankful For
One Meaningful Thing That Happened to Me in the Past 24 Hours
I’ll talk about this more today, and it took me a while to decide that it was meaningful, and a blessing — I was challenged by my difficult relationship…
All I really did was put my concentration and energy into about a half an hour of fairly easy chair yoga, but considering I haven’t done any yoga at all in years, it’s no wonder my body objects. I’ve let it dictate too long that it had too many limitations, and it didn’t feel like doing anything. But “it” is ME, and I’m in charge. So yoga it was, and we’ll deal with the consequences as they come.
Now, let’s look at today’s 30 Day NO FAIL Happiness Challenge entries:
Today is a low energy day. Despite a VERY successful (is that the right word? Is meditation success or fail?) meditation session last night, I had a great deal of trouble getting to sleep, and as a result, am tired and run-down today. So this is going to be a challenge for me — the first real one. I need to actively seek happiness, and push away the doldrums, the urge to go lie down and nap (also encouraged by the fact that it is COLD here today!) I adore fall — it’s my favorite time of year, and this is my favorite kind of weather. But my mood and energy also tend to get a little more low key, and considering I’m almost no key as a rule, that’s not necessarily a good thing. It’s time to learn how to pull myself up and move with a bit more vigor than is my habit.
So what’s that graphic above?
Cats are the best at meditation, I think. At just being in general. Cats don’t need much to be happy. Unfortunately, my cat (not pictured) is rather unhappy right now due to her lack of treats. We do not forget to buy the treats, or the mistress becomes difficult to live with. She may destroy something or stay up all night singing the song of her people. It’s happened before, so we’re usually very careful about it.
Anyway, in the world of happiness and change, yesterday and today turned out to be interesting. I meditated last night, which was pleasant. Listening to the various Noah Levine talks I’ve found around the ‘net has really been helping me focus there, and with applying what I’m learning as well. My attitude in general has been a lot better. I have a difficult relationship with my family, but using my new attitude and the things I’m learning about compassion, right speech, and loving-kindness I can definitely see a reduction in the suffering that relationship has caused in the past. In fact, I’m amazed to see that sometimes, even if I’m “right,” just letting the topic go wipes out SO many problems!
Day SEVEN? It’s been a week already that I’ve been on this path? I can definitely tell you that it feels like I haven’t gotten anywhere. But when I count all the small steps forward, I can see I HAVE changed.
Lady Evolving 