Show Some Love

February 12, 2023 ~ wordancerblog ~ 4 Comments

This January to March time is always a rush of non-stop activity at school. The Northeast, dreary winter weather does nothing to help soothe the onslaught of stress. I get so wrapped up in the doing that I don’t even realize I’m hunching my shoulders and holding my breath most of the day. And I love what I do! I love helping children. The helping part is the easy, rewarding part for me. It’s the never-ending to-do list of faculty meetings, parent meetings, assessments, evaluations – check lists upon check lists. I am a very organized person, but the enormous amount of never-ending work has the potential to drown and discourage me. But I won’t let it!

Thank goodness for mid-February. Mid-February is a reminder to breathe, slow down, and show myself some self-love. My wedding anniversary is February 10^th. Since our first anniversary 38 years ago, my husband and I have used the 10^th to herald in four days of celebration. For us, it is a time to reflect of what we are grateful for; a time to remember that we are each other’s best thing. The 10th also stands as a reminder for me to pause, take a step back and undo some of the knot of work projects. The work is important, but if I don’t take time for myself and show myself some love, the work will ultimately suffer.

Here are 14 ways I’m intentionally showing myself some love this February:

Smile – I notice that when I smile, I feel better. My mood lifts, and it’s contagious! People smile back and I feel connected. When I look in the mirror, I am learning to appreciate my lines, wrinkles, and spots. “This is me; this is my face. Hello! You are loved,” I say to myself and grin.

Laugh – I am a laugher. I cannot help it. I laugh all the time. I didn’t notice that I laugh a lot until friends brought it up. I find joy in many things. I think it is my laughter that keeps me sane, keeps everything in perspective when times are rough. When I’m having a hard time, I often seek out a funny movie to put me back on track. Laughter, as they say, is the best medicine.

Read and Rest – I love to read, but often choose working over reading. I have intentionally eked out some space in my day to read and rest, to read a bit and then ponder what the author is showing me. Words, images, ideas come flowing in, and I take a deep breath. I am connected now to my internal world and it makes me more curious and hopeful.

Peaceful Pen – I cannot seem to find the time during the week to write, so the weekends serve as my time to escape with my pen (or keyboard as the case may be). I wake up early each morning, look out the window past the meadow and woods, think about what is on my mind, and sit down to write for a few hours. I find that this time is essential for me. Without this writing time, I feel incomplete and unhappy. Writing is breathing to me.

Joy in Nature – Nature brings out the best in me. I am fortunate that I live in a place with nature all around: woods, farms, parks, and gardens. I regularly visit these places. When I’m in nature, beauty sinks into my skin, and I am reminded that I am a small part of this big, beautiful planet.

Beautiful Bouquet – I love flowers, all flowers. Okay, I admit tulips are my favorite. Yellow ones. I’m glad for that because roses are very expensive. Roses are beautiful too, but I like something more subtle, like wildflowers in the summer. In February, I stop off before work and buy myself a simple bouquet of tulips for my desk. They last over a week and every time I look at them, the remind me to pause and rest for a moment.

Café Life – I’ve been finding time before and after work stop by local cafes. I choose a different one throughout the week. It is like going on a little adventure. Most times, I have to take out and run, but when there is more time, I sit down and savor my favorite drink, cupping it in my hands and breathing in the aroma.

Sweet Indulgence – Chocolate. I love chocolate. I eat way too much chocolate. Instead of consuming lots of chocolate throughout the day (someone put a bowl of candy in the faculty room)! I’ve decided to show a little self-control and choose one sweet indulgence each week. This is not your run of the mill candy bar. This is a sumptuous, decadent dessert. It something planned, something to look forward to.

Meditate to Rejuvenate – I am learning to slow my monkey mind and meditate. It is not comfortable for me. I’ve been teaching a 4^th grader how to meditate to help calm her monkey mind. It wasn’t until meditating with her that I realized how important it is to take a few minutes out of the day to center oneself. After meditating for 5 minutes, my body felt suddenly relaxed, and my mind was refreshed. I didn’t feel overwhelmingly tired with the need for my afternoon coffee.

Step it up! I rush around all day and sit all night. I’ve decided to change my couch potato habit and get up and move. I may stretch, do tai chi, dance in my socks, or practice martial arts with my husband. But my daily activity is walking. I love to walk in the woods, but when I can’t do that, I walk in town to window shop and people gaze.

Artistic Spark – Drawing, painting, weaving, sewing, creating collages is something that has brought me joy since I was young. I don’t need to be the best artist. I just let the materials take me where they want me to go, and I find that as I move my hand, my whole body and mind relaxes. I get into the artistic flow and everything else disappears.

Soak Away Stress – You know those luxurious bathrooms with the deep marble tubs or the beautiful jacuzzi looking over the sea? No – I don’t have either one. But I have a deep need to soak away stress, so I bought myself a little footbath and some fragrant bath salts for my tired feet. At least once a week, I fill up the footbath with warm water, sprinkle in the bath salts, and breathe in lavender and sage.In a few minutes, my feet feel loved.

Make Time for Music – Even though I have not one ounce of musical talent, I love music. I listen, I sing along, I hum throughout the day. The world needs more music. I remember going to a Broadway musical with my mother and refusing to leave when the show was over because I wanted life to be a musical. I was twenty-three at the time! I just don’t understand why we can’t just break out into song. And so – music accompanies me everywhere I go. It helps me think, and it allows me to relax.

Random Act of Kindness – The best way I know to feel joy and love is to spread it to others. Each day, I conscientiously make sure I perform an act of Kindness for someone else. It doesn’t have to be a grand, bold gesture. It can be as simple as a smile!

On Turtle Time

March 26, 2022March 25, 2022 ~ wordancerblog ~ 4 Comments

My husband reveres turtles. He has a collection of stone, marble, and ceramic ones. He keeps a silver one on a long chain he wears around his neck. This practice started ten years ago when I was misdiagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We had quite a scare for ten days waiting for more test results. That’s when my husband bought a small silver turtle and used it to help him stay calm and focused. Turtles are known to symbolize long life, so it also acted as a good luck charm and miraculously it was. Since that time all types of turtles are welcome in our house, and we seek them out when traveling too. For me, they are a reminder to slow down and remember what is most important. They remind me to keep my face towards the sun and savor the sunshine.

Yellow-bellied sliders at Turtle Beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina

Turtle Meditation

Almost unnoticed they silently swim,
Camouflaged through murky water
and twisting pond fronds,
Floating, dark like shadows.
A bale of turtles
Gradually emerge with slow,
Careful, ponderous steps,
Lumbering towards the grassy shore,
Traversing pebble and blade,
Oh, so slow grace,
Basking on their own time.
The ornate waxed surface
Of their moss-colored shells,
A parquetry of inlaid squares
Shine in the afternoon light.
Their noble heads
Rise towards the sun,
Still so still… motionless,
Soaking in wisdom
From the sun above
And the grass below,
Hiss… hum… groan…
They croak a Chelonian chant
Carrying the weight of the world
On their ancient backs,
And then… and then… they
Slowly let it go.

With grace and gratitude to TWT: Slice of Life and SOS: Sharing our Stories.

Mugs and Memory

March 14, 2022 ~ wordancerblog ~ 16 Comments

I don’t know when it started, but maybe it started after my husband and I had collected seventy-two stuffed animals, and we realized that they were taking up valuable real estate. We needed to stop buying stuffed animals for each other for birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. I think that’s when we turned to coffee mugs. We now have far more than seventy-two mugs. I periodically have to cull the chipped and cracked ones. It is hard to do. It’s like saying good-bye to an old friend.

To keep them safe in my memory, I thought I would photograph them and write about their lineage. They are nothing flashy, just some cups that caught my eye or were given to me. Their power is in the memories they hold: who gave them to me, why I gave them, where did they come from? They are creating a timeline of my life and help me to reflect on the past. They are artifacts of my time here: my time sitting down with a steaming cup of coffee, tea, cider, or cocoa, my time meditating, inhaling the cup’s contents and feeling at peace, at least for a little while.

Belonging

February 6, 2022February 6, 2022 ~ wordancerblog ~ Leave a comment

Winter, for me, is a time for quiet contemplation. I am been intentionally making myself rest and reflect for large periods of the day. This is unusual for me because I am always busy, always on the go, always doing the next thing before the present thing is even completed. Winter has helped me to slow down, to consider possibilities, to wonder what my next careful step will be. I put all the rushing and doing on pause. I want to enjoy my solitude and begin to like myself again.

At home and at school, I have been thinking about what it means to belong. People put themselves into all kinds of groups: family, teams, organizations, cliques, clubs, etc. We have a inner need to belong to someone or something. That is what makes us human. We seek connection all our lives. It is the basis of government, religion, and culture. But a majority of this needing to belong is temporary and capricious. As I grow (and I’ve been growing for the last six decades), I realize more and more that I belong to myself and to nature. Nature makes me feel large and small at the same time. Nature reminds me of my purpose on this pretty planet. The moon, the stars, the trees are all connected to me and I to them. They are solid and steadfast, something to hold on to. They will go on after me. I am the fleeting, ephemeral one. But the stars, the clouds, the snow falling – these things are faithful and true.

Belonging

I walk on the road at night,
Mittened and muffled.
The street strewn with
Milky crystal squares of salt,
The streetlamps shiver yellow,
The moon, in front of me,
Sliced off in a graceful curve,
A Waning Gibbous, I think,
Following a Full Moon -
Lighting the way.
I walk alone,
No one else inhabits,
This place at this time,
I belong here -
This road, this lamppost,
The frozen pond,
The imperfect circle
Of the moon
Are all mine.
I belong to them,
And they to me.
I am here alone -
The silent moon,
The meandering road,
The new fallen snow,
And me, a dark spot,
          Finding my way.

Power to Pause

January 16, 2022January 16, 2022 ~ wordancerblog ~ 1 Comment

This week, my thoughts came in quick, short phrases. They begged to be placed into poetry. January is a perfect month for reflection, and I am able to get to the center of my thoughts when I compose poetry. Everything seems to fall into place, and I feel comforted by the rhythm of my thinking.