onward. together. endurance edition.
While I wish it was simple and quick to fix the world’s problems, I know that isn’t possible. This is an endurance event.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones that we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
~ Barack Obama
The following are a few tips I’m using to continue to persist. Some days are better than others. I’ve included some additional resources at the end, a few links I’ve found helpful or interesting.
self care
No. It’s not fluff. I used to think it was complete silliness. Over the years I’ve come to understand why self care is important. In addition to my 25 hours of Shabbat, I have daily moments of self care. During these short sessions (sometimes I only need five minutes) I pause to take stock of how I feel and what I need to improve the situation. Have I eaten regularly? I don’t always eat well (coffee is food), but getting up and going to the kitchen gets me out of my desk chair. A warm cup of tea cradled in my hands calms me down. Other nice breaks are permission to read a chapter of a book, or spindling for a few minutes (generally until I don’t have enough twist and my yarn breaks).
If I skip these short spells, more often than not, my life goes sideways and spirals downward or snowballs out of control until I have no choice but to force a reset (often the next day with a longer more extensive break).
When I pause, the time ends up negligible and I am more productive and happier. When I don’t, then the unhappiness orb grows and envelops not just me, but my work and family too.
I also limit how and where I consume the news. I limit social media and my twitter access is through well honed lists.
I’m trying to post extra photos of the cats, both Shadow & Buddy have Instagram accounts and I also use the hashtag #shadowandbuddycat.
helping others & carrying on
There are many ways after we’ve taken care of ourselves to help someone, from contacting our representatives to volunteering, the possibilities abound.
A few ideas to help get you started:
Smile to someone behind a cash register.
Check in on an elderly neighbor.
Knit and crochet more hats. To that end you might enjoy my post at little acorn creations, onward. together. Or sharpen your newfound skills and make squares that can be sewn into a blanket and donated.
Find a local organization that may be neglected by the large national attention and donate what and how you can.
Keep calling. Introvert? Have social anxiety? There are now many scripts and helpful tools. How to call your reps when you have social anxiety was the first guide I found and I like it with 5calls.org.
sharing safely
First figure out if it’s real news or fake (here’s how, though don’t forget about satire). If it’s fake, how or if you should provide education regarding it. You can’t fight all battles on all fronts, however you should be diligent to try to share valid information. Check everything first!
While I don’t think most of us need to go full lockdown mode, it is important to be cautious and learn about it now. I wrote about HTTPS at PennyWise Consulting.
