Meg Evans

As life has settled into a quieter pace in recent weeks, I’ve found—somewhat to my surprise—that old anxieties don’t seem to trouble me as much. While they haven’t entirely gone away, it does feel as if they’ve gone mostly dormant for now, or perhaps they’re hibernating.

I’m reminded of pebbles in a river, tumbled all about by high water that scours away the mud and debris. As the river slows and the water level falls, the rocks and pebbles settle into a new, solid shape.

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.

This morning I had two meetings scheduled right next to each other, with a presentation to attend soon afterward. Ordinarily I don’t have that much going on at work, and it was a bit of a distraction for my husband, who is sharing our home office space with me.

Somewhat to my surprise, however, I didn’t feel overly distracted myself. This week I’ve been feeling calmer than usual, and changes to my daily routine don’t seem as bothersome. Maybe everything that has happened this year has given me a shift in perspective. If so, I hope it will turn out to be something that can be carried forward into a more peaceful future.

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.

When life becomes unsettled, it can be hard to imagine what the future will look like. Everything feels unpredictable and uncertain. We’re used to making detailed plans and keeping to our routines. Without that familiar structure, we’re left not knowing what way to go.

In such times, rather than burdening ourselves further by struggling to be in control no matter what happens, we might do better to simply follow the wisdom of the soul and put aside those expectations.

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.

Since December, I’ve been getting exercise every day on a rowing machine in my basement, which came from a Black Friday sale at Best Buy. I hadn’t expected to gain a lot of fitness from it because, for several years, I had been rowing on the river four or five times a week, when the weather was good, so I thought it would be about the same.

Then I started going faster on it, although my workouts didn’t feel more difficult, and my husband said I was looking more fit. There is a weekly online race, which gives me a good opportunity to measure my progress. I definitely have a little more “umph” than I had last year. Putting regular exercise into my daily schedule was more of an improvement than I expected. That is often what results from better habits!

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 workday started with an online meeting in which I had to present information relating to a project. After I joined the meeting, I realized that I had forgotten to put water in a small fountain on top of my file cabinet. It wasn’t gurgling that loudly, and I didn’t think anyone would care if they heard it anyway; but it got me distracted and out of my flow.

Things went downhill from there. I felt like I was stumbling over my words, couldn’t get my thoughts straight, was taking too much time and causing the meeting to run late, and had messed things all up and was a failure in general. I spent the next few hours wondering if everyone saw me as having a big “S” on my chest for “screwup” rather than Superman.

Although I kind of realized that those feelings were way out of proportion to the real situation, I just couldn’t shake them. For lack of any better ideas, I put a load of laundry in the washer during my lunch break and then exercised for a while, which helped to calm me down somewhat.

When I sat back down at my desk, my inbox had a very positive email from the meeting organizer, thanking me for presenting the information and telling me how helpful I had been. He told me that he particularly appreciated my willingness to take enough time to make sure everyone understood.

That was a very welcome reminder to keep small mistakes in perspective—after all, they’re just part of life.

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.

When we can’t keep to our usual routines, we feel more stressed. Although today’s culture often dismisses such feelings as showing weakness or lack of mental flexibility, I believe it’s fair to say that needing routines is just human nature. Routines serve the useful function of reducing stress by limiting the number of decision points we encounter as we go through the day. Decisions, even small ones made without much conscious thought, increase stress because there is always a risk of making a mistake.

It only makes the situation worse if we judge ourselves harshly for feeling stressed. Instead, we need to take especially good care of ourselves when facing disruptions outside our control. There is nothing wrong or selfish about calming ourselves in times of crisis with small comforting routines. Even if it’s as simple as enjoying a cup of tea, taking time for self-care goes a long way toward staying healthy.

Addendum: I posted this entry on Friday morning because I couldn’t get into my blog Thursday evening due to hosting company maintenance. That suits the topic of dealing with disruptions, I suppose.

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.

All those days of rushing around from one thing to another, while wishing that life wouldn’t be as hectic, seem so far away now. The to-do lists feel like ancient history. Life has slowed down to a trickle, a meandering stream—this day, this moment, this breath.

When was it that I needed to keep reminding myself to live in the present? That seems so very long ago.

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 my husband and I are staying in the house and sharing our home office space, we’re trying to keep each other cheerful. All those little things we used to worry about—well, they’re not even worth mentioning. And now, more than ever, a smile or an encouraging word can make all the difference in how the day goes.

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 like toaster corn muffins, but I don’t often see them here in Ohio because they are mainly a Southern food. When I went to get groceries on Monday, I wasn’t thinking about them at all. I just wanted to stock up on basic items because of all the reports of panic buying and bare shelves.

The bread aisle was empty of almost everything, but there were still some hamburger buns. That was the only bread item on my list, so it seemed like my grocery trip was going okay even before I looked at a small center display, which had just been stocked with—toaster corn muffins. Yum!

Whatever you’re doing this week, I hope that you also have some happy little things to keep your spirits up. Stay safe, do what you can—and keep in mind that we are going to get through this.

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 sitting down to write a post for today, my husband was listening to “Better in Time” by Leona Lewis. The song’s refrain is “It’ll all get better in time.” That message, however simple, is well worth keeping in mind. Even on days when we have to deal with all kinds of problems and confusion, something good will come along, all in its time.

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.