Meg Evans

This week I’ve not been able to stay as calm and relaxed as usual. Some of it has simply been a matter of not getting to bed early enough; but I slept well last night and still don’t feel altogether back to my normal self, for reasons that are mostly unknown. The human brain has its quirks, and sometimes cause and effect are less than clear. So I’ve been taking it easy and, when my thoughts wander, bringing them back gently with a reminder to just be with myself.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Chilly winds have been howling outside my house today, but there’s a bit of sunlight peeking through the clouds and plenty of green leaves unfolding, so it’s all good. Happy Thursday!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Although it’s officially spring, today was chilly and windy here, and I was glad that I didn’t have to go anywhere besides walking down the driveway to get the mail. Mostly I just sat at my desk. My work was about the same as always. During a break I went downstairs to get some exercise on the rowing machine.

I’m planning to row at a regatta in Tennessee with my husband over the Memorial Day weekend. We are very much looking forward to getting out again; but after being at home for such a long time, it still seems far away and not quite real yet. I wasn’t thinking much about getting ready for the competition while rowing on the machine, but was focused on maintaining good form and sitting up straight.

Then my husband came downstairs to chat for a few minutes, and he mentioned that I was sitting up straight and looking good. He expects us to do well at the regatta because we have been working out regularly and getting faster. I was glad that he noticed my efforts; and this was a good reminder that every day matters, even when it seems like there’s not much happening.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

My husband sometimes has described me as a very patient person. I suspect he is giving me too much credit in that regard because I don’t feel as patient as I would like to be. Especially now, I really want life to hurry up and get better. Not just back to normal, or just a little better—a LOT better, and oh yeah, right NOW. I want great things to happen, and I want them to show up yesterday.

I know that I’m not the only person who feels this way. Everyone reading this post probably has similar feelings. Still, I have to admit that I am far from being a patient person. Persistent, yes, but that’s not the same. Being persistent is just a matter of keeping on, while patience has more to do with perspective and calmly accepting that not everything will happen at once. I haven’t mastered the latter, but am still—persistently, at least—working on it.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Outside my window this morning, there were snow flurries. After last week’s warm weather, it kind of felt like Mother Nature had decided to play an April Fool’s joke, even though I know there’s generally at least one cold day in early April.

That was okay, though, because my digital art display always lets me prank Mother Nature right back when the occasion calls for it. This faux “window” showing wild parrots on a wall in Venezuela seemed like just the thing—no snow to be found anywhere.

Wishing you a colorful flock of happy imaginings too!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

After I said something to my husband earlier this week about wishing that the world would hurry up and get back to normal so it wouldn’t feel like we’re living through the zombie apocalypse, he asked if that was a movie. I said no, it’s a genre of stories where a virus turns millions of people into zombies and the survivors hide indoors.

After thinking about that for a little while, he called me to come and look at something on the computer. He had made a list of the rowing regattas where we like to compete in the fall season. The list included the date for each, and he told me that most of them already have been scheduled.

That cheered me up a lot—I appreciated his kindness in putting together that list to show me, and I could tell that he felt happier too.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I woke up early this morning, probably because I hadn’t yet adjusted to Daylight Savings Time. It was still dark, and a steady rain made it seem even darker. The weather forecast predicted temperatures falling throughout the day. I got myself some coffee, changed the image on my art display to a landscape with cloudy skies, and sat down at my desk to start the workday.

Outside my windows, the rain kept on falling. I started thinking about an midmorning appointment I had made, that the rain likely wouldn’t stop by that time, and that I would have to go out in it.

Before I could get too caught up in those mindless yucky-day thoughts, however, my perspective spontaneously shifted. All at once, I felt very cozy inside my nice warm house, sitting at a comfortable desk with a cup of coffee (butter toffee flavor, my favorite). The steady rhythm of the rain left me feeling connected to nature. I rather enjoyed listening to it.

I did have to go out in it after a while, of course. But that was just a simple matter of walking a few steps into my garage and getting in my car, wearing a warm coat with a hood to keep the rain off when I arrived at my destination. No problem!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

While I was browsing recently through images online, looking for some new pictures I could upload to the library for my art display, a photo of a winding path through a forest caught my eye.

Instead of a descriptive title about the forest or path, the caption was “Detour,” which I particularly liked. In our busy modern world, it’s helpful to be reminded that self-nurturing and connecting with nature are not about scrutinizing the to-do list to see where a forest hike can fit into the schedule. We may do better simply to go with the flow of the occasional random detour.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.