How are you?

How are you?

Published: Sat, 03/21/20

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March 21, 2020

Hello Dear One,

How are you?

Really. How are you?

Spring is officially here in the Sonoma County and while the earth is showing us her blooming beauty, these are strange and worrisome times. I have been in an intensely chaotic swirl since at least last October, and that was before all of this virus intensity.

I know I am not alone.
We are all managing so, so very much. I have been wanting to say so much yet not at sure what to say. Truth is I've been overwhelmed, scared, angry, anxious, and trying to digest so much new and dire information. It's a lot.

Thankfully I'm gaining my footing again. While there is so much to be concerned and overwhelmed with right now, I am trying take my blessings where I find them. There are many intimate blessings in the tiny moments of human connection. The friend checking in on me, the teller at the bank asking about my mom's health, the abundance of pet videos on the internet. These moments are always here, I just too often let them float by unnoticed as the connective threads of humanity that they are. It doesn't make the scary and hard stuff any easier, but they give me goodness to root into.

We are in this together and I want you to know I am here. I want to be one of those connective threads forming an unbreakable web of humanity that will hold us all. I want to support you in the ways I can. Hit reply to this email or click here to send me a message. Let me know what is going on in your world? I’d love to hear the struggles and the joys.

Me, I’m leaning hard into a few things to help support my health, mental and otherwise. These aren't suggestions, I know these are what is working for me and wont work for everyone. I don't have kids that suddenly need homeschooling. I've worked from home for the past twenty+ years so I don't have the learning curve of changing work environments. I don't have work that requires me to be face to face with the public. As an introvert I love being alone and at home.

Even though my day to day has not changed that much, the psychic and energetic energy of the world is dramatically different and these are just some of the ways I'm supporting the new normal of life. I share them because I always love hearing what others are doing and maybe you might find them interesting.

Conversations with friends. By old fashioned phone, via Zoom, and Marco Polo. I’m under a sheltered in place order here in California and social distancing has become the new normal. Social isolation however does not need to be.

Limiting the amount of social media I consume, and curating what I am taking in. It is ok to take a break. I am also not shy about using the block, hide, snooze, unfollow, and unfriend functions. Not because I don’t like or even love these people, but right now, my bandwidth for cycling messages of doom is almost non-existent. It’s ok to remove or shield yourself from content that brings more overwhelm than support.

Reading rather than watching the news. Broadcast news ramps my nervous system up too much. I have much more control over the amount and speed I take in written news. I try and check in just a couple of times a day, some days more successfully than others. I want to stay responsibly informed but not obsessed. I am trying and I notice that limiting my news input has been helpful. I am better informed and calmer.

The webcams and meditations from The Monterey Bay Aquarium. Penguins waddling, otters frolicking- yes please! Jellies and waves as the backdrop to calming meditations- oh heck yeah!

Knitting. I may even finally finish a lace piece I have been working on for a couple of years. Creativity in any form is healing. No need to be good. I am extra grateful about now that I’ve never seen a craft supply I wanted to declutter. Thank you past self for not getting rid of those crayons, paper, glue, glitter, ink pads, old magazines...

Baking bread. I started my own sourdough starter last fall because for some reason I wanted to start baking our own bread. This happened at about the same time the stress in my world started escalating beyond my ability to cope. Coincidence? I think not. Of course the kitchen is covered in a light dusting of flour most of the time but I’m good with it.

Napping. I don’t sleep well in general so I have been grabbing any opportunity I can to rest. The difference it makes is profound.

Emotion tending. All of our emotions have powerful gifts and guidance for us, even the uncomfortable ones. I know this is a time when our emotions can feel overwhelming, which is why I am using all of those things listed here and more! I know I have talked bout this before but it bares repeating. Just expanding our emotional vocabulary and naming what we are feeling helps usnavigate the often challenging times of life.

I work a lot with emotions in my work and in my life, and this is one of the most useful skills I have found. The magic is you don’t need to process out any of the feelings for this to be helpful. Here is an emotional vocabulary list to help. Again, I know I've linked this before, but honestly I have several of these lists around the house and both my husband and I grab for them when we are in the swirl of things. It helps me find myself on the map of living. (If your emotions are causing you distress, causing you or others harm, or interfering with your ability to live life, please, please, please reach out for professional support. It is available. These are trying times, you don’t have to fight though it alone.)

Nature. Even if it's just the view from my window. I had a huge hawk come visit the other day. It stayed perched in the tree outside of my office for a good long time. A humming bird was not at all happy about it and was not shy about letting the hawk know! Talk about David and Goliath.

My roses are starting to bloom.

The tree outside my bedroom window is causing blossom petals to rain down each time the breeze blows.

It is grounding and comforting to see nature doing its thing.

And of course Netflix. I mean really, when I can sit at home and binge some good TV and movies and it counts as saving the world? I will do my part! Current fav, Kim’s Convenience.

Self care is a sacred act of homecoming and devotional practice of world care.

What are you doing to care for yourself during this extraordinary time? It matters. You matter.

I may be popping into your mailbox a bit more frequently going forward. Although I have said this before (incert embarassed emoji face), I’ve been isolated and consumed by the hard parts of living. I have forgotten the need to reach out. So here I am reaching out. If you want to reach back, I would love it.

May you be safe and well and know how much you matter.

xx,
Sandi

Sandi Davis
www.lusciouslife.com

www.sandidavis.net

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