Death investigators know best - life is short.
We are a special group right here – we know better than anyone else – LIFE IS SHORT. This might be the very last day we have on this earth so let’s make it the best dang day we ever lived. Let’s build the life we don’t want to numb against. Let’s build relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers that we’re excited to show up for. Let’s relive ourselves of things that don’t serve us anymore; let them inform our future selves and build strong boundaries to stay true to our values. We can be intentional about our lives because no one else is going to do it for us. We deserve to be happy, healthy, and at peace.
How to cultivate calm
I just completed the longest two weeks of my life – I was single parenting while my husband took care of his sick father in Texas. In the beginning, I was struggling and craving the calm that comes from a routine but work and life duties continued to pull me every which way. So I focused on cultivating the calm – I rode my Peloton knock-off and did yoga, I got some extra sleep, and I posted in the Responders: Last Call and Live Alcohol Experiment groups. Those extra efforts didn’t change my husband’s absence or his dad’s illness and it didn’t change my kids’ outnumbering me. Exercising, resting, and connecting with my community calmed ME. When there was peripheral chaos and resistance around me, I was able to focus inward and control what I can – ME. You can too. Get curious about yourself and ask “what benefit do you get when you take the actions that need to be taken? Is it possible to see this as something you “get to do” rather than “have to do?”