11-20-2020

 

Mary’s Minute

“Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality.”

            ~ Jen Sincero

Gratitude is a gift, and for that and many reasons, we are all ready for Thanksgiving this year.  I think we can all admit that during the pandemic, we have all done our share of focusing on what is lacking.  Gratitude shifts our focus from what we don’t have and to what we do have.

Gratitude can be expressed through our words and actions, but most importantly, gratitude is something that happens within each of us.  It is a way of thinking.  It is starting and ending each day by thinking of things for which we are grateful.  It is seeing the good in ourselves and others. 

As we head into Thanksgiving week, in addition to delicious food and (socially distanced) time with family, I wish you the gift of gratitude!

                                                                Happy Thanksgiving week!                

                                                                                                Mary

11-13-2020

 

Mary’s Minute

How many times in the last eight months have we heard or said, “this challenging time”?  No matter how many times we have heard it, it still cannot be overstated, but this week I read an article that gave me a new perspective about why we are all hitting the wall right now. 

Fortunately, in the times of deep adversity, our minds and bodies get a surge of energy that allow us to push forward and make it through a trying time.  In the most immediate way, I think of it as adrenaline – like how a mother can lift a car off of her child in the moment of despair.  (Technically surge capacity is different than adrenaline, but the comparison helps me grasp the concept.)

Tara Haelle defines surge capacity, “as a collection of adaptive systems – mental and physical – that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters.”  Back in March, we recognized an emergency situation – the pandemic felt like a natural disaster as we all hunkered down and were glued to the Governor’s daily updates.  Sure, we didn’t like it, but our surge capacity allowed us to make the best of it. 

The problem is that after months of living with this unprecedented disaster of sorts, our surge capacity it depleted.  I think the word “exhausted” has overtaken “anxious” as a word used to describe more people’s feelings right now.

Tara Haelle offers great insight into this notion in the article, Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted – It’s Why You Feel Awful, which is linked here.  It reiterates the need for self-care.  We need to feel our feelings, find fulfilling activities, strengthen relationships, and focus on rebuilding activities, like sleep, nutrition, exercise, meditation, and gratitude.

There is a reason you feel exhausted and depleted right now.  Be kind to yourself and others, recognizing the depletion of our surge capacity.  My hope is that you can find ways to rebuild the capacity within you as “this challenging time” continues.

                                                            Have a good week!

                                                                        Mary

11-6-2020

 

Mary’s Minute

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

                                                                        ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”                                           ~ Buddha

Hope has been so important to us these last several months, knowing that the pandemic will pass, and tomorrow will be better.  I think one of the hardest parts for us right now is not knowing when or how it will get better!

On the other hand, we have the wise words of Buddha reminding us that all we ever really have is the present.  As tough as it is, the present is still a gift. 

I think hope can certainly help us get through these tough times – knowing that brighter days are ahead, but I also think we shouldn’t discount the beauty of what is.  Our present state may seem gloomy, but there is always beauty in the present.  Even in these troubling times the pages of our gratitude journals are full!  I am going to try to find beauty in all that is:  friends, family, and nature -- even the most minute details of nature, such as the fine lines in a blade of grass, the veins in a fallen leaf, or the different shades of blue in the sky.

Life is full of hope, but all we ever really have is the present.  My wish is that you can find joy in your present situation, while still holding on to hope of brighter days.

 

Have a great week!

                                                                                                Mary