March has always been a long month for me. As a kid, I remember how it seemed to drag on.... seemingly forever at times. My parents are both accountants so we never did that much during March. Pair that with basketball season being over and spring sports not starting yet and you have a recipe for boredom. The weather in Maine doesn't help. It doesn't feel like spring and we usually get heavy and wet snow. It's usually not so warm that you want to spend time outside, but it's starting to warm up slowly. Basically, by March, I'm always longing for spring, warm weather and flowers.
This year, there are moments when it seems like all we're getting are the constant April showers. We're being bombarded with depressing and scary news. The outlook is grim at times. We're only at the tip of the iceberg, and we've still got a long way to go.
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Right now, it's very easy to focus on the negative when it's all encompassing and surrounding us in every thing that we do. We're all feeling it... fear, despair, loneliness, isolation, and so many more emotions. We're all riding a rollercoaster of complete chaos... longing to get off but unable to as we're not the ones in control.
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That's a hard pill to swallow, but I'm slowly coming to terms with it and accepting it. I've decided that I need to focus on the positive, and that's difficult- especially right now. I know that it's going to require a lot of effort and constant mindfulness on my part. I'm sure it's not going to be easy, but we all have to do whatever it's going to take to not let this conquer us. Our minds and spirits are worth investing in.
I've already made a few changes that I think are helping. I've stopped leaving the television on in the background- even if I'm just listening to a Hallmark movie. A lot of companies have already changed their commercials to reflect the times, and I don't need the constant reminder of curbside pick-up, contactless deliveries, etc.
I've also stopped spending so much time scrolling on Facebook. I still do it sometimes, but it's not as all encompassing as I have been the past few weeks. If I'm not seeing positive posts of my friends' cute kids and pets, I get off pretty quickly. I can read about what's happening in the news when I'm ready (and mentally prepared) to.
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I've tried to "find the fun" in any way that I can. Yesterday, I took the day to celebrate Quarantine-O-Ween and had some Halloween fun a few months early. Depending on how long this lasts, I might celebrate more holidays and events. Maybe I'll have my own themed days, or crafting days, or movie marathons... whatever it takes. I want to look back at this time and remember the good times, not the fear and uncertainty.
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But I have faith that the April showers will eventually bring the May flowers... even if we have to live like this past April... May... June. We're going to get through this. One way or another, we'll make it through. I really hope that on the other side of this, we will all be better for it. We'll all be a little bit more grateful for what we do have.
As we start another new month, we have another fresh start. I'm choosing to try to find the positive in each and every day, hour, minute and moment. We can't change what's happening around us, but we can change our attitude about it. We can choose joy, we can choose happiness and we can choose to be grateful. We can choose to turn the April showers in to May flowers. We are the key to unlocking our own magic. °o°
Thankful for your posts...the fun ones and the positive ones...look forward to them! From one Mainer to another-Thank You and Be Safe jv
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