“Whenever you are stressed, it is because whatever is happening at that moment is what you don’t want to be happening.”
Oprah Winfrey
A critical step in minimizing your own stress is to accept your present moment.
Rhymes with Dress
mental health
Everything is Perfect
“Choose knowledge for the sake of knowledge over achievement. We are in an achievement-oriented society. We judge and value people based on their achievements. But most of the people who get caught up in that trap – always trying to “get ahead” – their reward for that is almost always high blood pressure, ulcers, early deaths and even things like cancer. Remember, it’s a perfect universe. There’s no stress in it. Only people thinking stressful thoughts.”
Surviving
The Choice
I’m reading this right now. Dr. Eger, a Holocaust survivor, is proof that our happiness is our choice in life, regardless of what happens.
The Antidote
She told me she wakes up anxious. I recommended writing five things she is grateful for first thing in the morning – every morning – before she does anything. Just two weeks in, she said she feels happier each day.
Gratitude can replace worry.
It’s Not Personal
“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.”
Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements
Fun and Natural
“Fifteen minutes of fun exercise each day is the equivalent of one anti-depressant.”
Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage
No News is Good News
I’ve avoided watching/listening to news for two weeks now. I didn’t realize how frequently I was checking it and how awful it made me feel.
Since I’ve stopped checking in with CNN, NPR, Fox News, etc., I have:
- read a book (my cousin’s (!) – Beloved Sa Mi)
- made major headway with my second children’s book
- voted early in the general election for Mesa, AZ
- completed the pre-candidacy phase of the National Board Certification for Teaching program
Most importantly, I’ve felt clearer and more centered.
If the news is getting you down, why not cut it out of your life?
One Who Knows
She is a porous entity
absorbing her surroundings entirely
and, reaching maximum capacity,
she overflows
About this poem: Once in awhile, my oldest daughter will reveal her thoughts out of the blue and surprise us with her insight. Judging by her actions, she appears to be the stereotypical self-centered teenager – concerned about social engagements and image. However, the other day, she expressed concern that her sister’s friend does not engage or commit as fully as her sister does. Plagued by thoughts and concerns because she is so sensitive and observant, she will reach maximum capacity and have a panic attack.
Seattle, Solitude and Self
I’m going to Seattle – flying out of Phoenix – alone.
I’ll walk to Bruce Lee’s burial site and I will utter his famous words:
“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
I’ll walk a mile to the Korean Bamboo and slurp kimchi tofu soup which is the fare of my clan.
I’ll venture into the Seattle Art Museum, study Iskra Johnson’s Color Bath and art from Jodhpur, India.
I’ll go to the Space Needle and, standing on the rotating glass floor, look at the bustling world below me.
At night, I will write and paint and bask in the hushed moonlight.
In my sojourn, the silence will allow me to hear myself.
Kismet 