Ever been at a tantalizing intersection?
I was – just this week. Torn between keeping up with news of the yet another presidential impeachment, the upcoming preparations for the Inauguration and the latest updates on Covid vaccines versus tackling my New Year’s Resolution List.
The List won out.
My neurons were all fired up to tackle the most responsible items on my list first: the techy ones that I always have put off in the past. These include, but certainly are not limited to, passing on my passwords, making a list of what files I have my most important digital information stored in and designating someone to be the recipient of all this “fascinating” info. That was #1 on my list.
That was way too daunting.
Deciding to be flexible, I skip to #2 on my list instead: Locate Living Wills and Medical Directives. After much aggravated searching, I lay claim to both documents and with wild relief and great satisfaction place a big black checkmark beside item #2.
New Year Resolution # 3: Decide Who Gets What:
My grandmother’s tea cups
My vast collection of books
My great grandfather’s swords from Russia
My dad’s World War 2 army gear
And any and all other momentos
This is a way too cumbersome a task to deal with – calling on me to not only face my own mortality, but to be organized and attentive. Not happening.
I skip to #4: Practice Good Mental Health
Here I have lots of options: Get out in nature. Stay in the moment. Slow down. Simplify life. Eat healthy. Practice gratitude. Do good deeds.
I’m stoked, especially after reading a directive from the World Health Organization. Due to the pandemic, mental health conditions are rapidly rising due to anxiety and isolation – resulting in depression, trauma, abuse and grief.
Who wants to be saddled with so much sadness? Not me. I’m all in on this one. What can I do to practice good emotional health in 2021? I know! Have fun.
That, I happily report, was accomplished this past week
My sister is in town for a month and staying in a condo about 45 minutes from my house. We both registered for a very properly social-distanced collage course at a regional fine arts center nearby.
The day of our first class arrived. We started off the morning by shopping and buying clothes (we didn’t need) at a trendy boutique where we were the only customers.
Then we ate lunch outside in a nearby neighborhood café – ordering not one low calorie, nutritious item. And then, for three glorious hours, we proceeded to lose ourselves in the very therapeutic act of working with our hands.
I like to think of us as amateur folk artists – telling our stories through our creations.
Here’s two of mine:
BLOOM WHEREVER YOU ARE
LIFE IS PUZZLING, JAGGED AND MESSY
Sometimes, simple is best: a day of fun with someone who loves you unconditionally. I can’t wait to repeat item #4 again.
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor