It has been an interesting month. I started my Nourishment in November with a trip to Panama, to spend a week in the sun, nourishing my soul with sunshine, travel to a foreign country, and seven days with my BFOP (Best Friend on the Planet) and her lovely husband. I had an amazing trip. But 6 flights, 5 airports, 3 time changes, and 2 countries, in 1 week and I came home with a cold… it’s not hard to imagine, I literally stepped into the cauldron of humanity. I put my immune system to the test and lost.
I will admit, it is challenging to want to blog, or video blog when you are sick…and then, life sometimes gets in the way, good intentions fall away and time keeps ticking past. Add a national holiday, a family emergency with a trip to the hospital, being in charge of a community event, and the discovery that I need to put my car down… and the stress of the compounding extraneous events have closed in on me like a vise.
It has the been this month’s focus on Nourishment that has been my lifeline. What stands out to me is that it is the little things. It’s the laughter, the clinking of glasses, and toasts to good times shared by friends and family. It is the wild green parrots flying in pairs, and thousands of Turkey Vultures preparing to migrate. I am nourished by swimming in the ocean, watching torrential down pours, listening to thunder, doing yoga, and enjoying the intoxicating smells of the herbs at the public market.
I am nourished by phone calls with my friends and family, connecting and expressing gratitude. I am nourished while I help do the the dishes at the family gathering, because what I am doing matters. I have a grand niece, she’s almost 1, it is such a delight to have a baby toddling around, and discovering the world. I am nourished when she reaches out to hug me, or pretend to hand me something and then take it back and laugh. Even with a trip the the ER, I was nourished by our family connection, and sharing stories into the wee hours.
Although it has been a heck of a ride this month, I am supremely grateful to be here now, experiencing the ups and the downs, devising plans A-Z to meet the challenges laid before me. I am nourished by my connection to my parents, even when they don’t agree with my decisions, they are willing to hash things out with me. I need to banter about options as much as anything—although they want so much to help, and offer solutions, and I know how hard it is for them to accept that I probably won’t take them.
I am grateful to have my wits about me when they advise me “to just find a man, with good credit, that I can tolerate his idiosyncrasies—and stay.” Because they know from experience that life is easier shared by two, and they are probably as exhausted by my daily outreach for moral support this past week. And instead of blowing a gasket at this arcane suggestion—I know it comes from love, and perhaps the ancient ideology of marrying off your daughters, so that someone else can carry the burden of “supporting” them through the stressors of everyday life.
So I sit here writing to remind you that sometimes, just being where you are is enough. If you find yourself faced by multiple challenges, breathe deep, find the small things that nourish you, and buckle your seat belt. The roller coaster of life is sure to scare you, thrill you, and be exhilaratingly fun!
Just be present to where you are. Mindfulness is the key, and stay cognizant of what nourishes You.
Namaste.