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.
The entire process rarely does anything but make me scream at the television. Especially when my family is involved. Now? I’m ignoring the whole process — it’s all BS anyway. I know who I’m voting for, and I will vote. I don’t need the surrounding drama.
The same holds true of comment sections of almost anything, and discussion forums. I’ve actually stayed away from them for YEARS, since the early 2000’s, when I was part of a fandom (long story). It took a few years to sink in, but I realized online “discussion” is no such thing. It is simply a place where the reasonable scream and give themselves heart attacks trying to be heard over the shrieking unhappy, unwashed masses who just want to run around spewing hate wherever they go. They can never agree with anything, and in fact, I don’t think they come in with any intention of seeing a middle ground. It’s all trolls, all the time.
I don’t even read the comment/reviews on Goodreads or Amazon. I only listen to the opinions of people I know and trust. I don’t need to read all that negativity. Everything seems to devolve into arguments and — say it with me — right fighting.
Even going around reading forums for yoga and Buddhism — people are arguing there, too. Who should and shouldn’t do yoga? What can and can’t be called yoga? Do you have to believe yoga philosophy to do asanas (poses)? And with Buddhism, what KIND of Buddhist are you? What traditional brand? How much do you meditate? Which teacher do you follow?
It’s ludicrous, and such a waste of time and energy. And this isn’t even getting into things like fights over celebrities, or music, or other stuff. All anyone wants to do is fight.
Just writing this has gotten me worked up! Just a while ago, I thought I found a great posting forum that might be the perfect home to discuss my budding Buddhism… but then I ran into threads where the people were being all “More Buddhist Than You,” and “Your Teacher isn’t a REAL Teacher!” etc. Instead of engaging, injecting my opinion, and adding my own negativity, I clicked that handy x in the tab. Bye bye, negativity.
I know I have to face negativity on my Path, but… why not just avoid it when I can?
Have a great night, everyone!
30 Day Challenge!
Three Things I’m Grateful For
No matter how small! Like:
- Waffles — I love waffles and pancakes. I eat them much more than I should (although I at least try for multi-grain ones), they are chock full of simple carbs, but… they’re so good! With a little bit of farm stand jam and a touch of butter… yum.
- Yoga — I’m still on the bare edge of even being able to get down on the floor at all, but what I do there, plus the standing, chair and otherwise supported poses, and breath make small differences in the way my body feels every day.
- Health care — my insurance isn’t always great, but I know how lucky I am to have any at all. And that it pays for things like physical therapy, to which I return today to help with the calcific tendonitis in my shoulders.
One Meaningful Thing That Happened to Me in the Past 24 Hours
Making the realization I talked about in my post yesterday, and meditated on even more last night: I have to stop expecting things to be other than they are, and change my attitude toward them instead.
Reach Out to Someone You Know and Praise Them
I reached out to an old online fandom friend and let her know that I’ve admired her strength in the face of challenging life circumstances for a long time. That felt really good!
Start Doing Cardio for at Least 15 Minutes a Day
Oh, here’s my favorite! Yay! I went to physical therapy, which wasn’t really cardio, but it certainly was exercise, and added to an 11-minute chair cardio routine, I am BEAT! Wow. Starting from scratch is really starting from scratch.
Lady Evolving 