Monday, January 17, 2022

Me On A Monday - January 17th

 


Good Morning.  It has been very cold here in the last 4-5 days.  Saturday we woke to -22 & -31 with the wind chill.  Needless to say, the treadmill has been called into play!

Currently Reading: I just finished The Midnight Library. It was a most interesting read, lots to think about after the last page was read.  

I've also read a lot of online articles, especially around the psychology of decluttering & creating comforts of home.  Some of this interest was sparked by Sandie Cottee's F/B link about the "Silent To Do's" (huge impact) & Alexa's recent blog post about Anese Cavanaugh's "tolerances"(another big impact).  Then my article reading sparked several long discussions with Mr Man about our home. Which sparked a surge of successful decluttering efforts. There's more to do, but both of us have a new emotional & mental attitude about dealing with home tolerances & the silent to do's.

Currently Feeling: I'm using a veterinary term used for indoor cats, Captivity Stress.  In Ontario we are once again in a form of pandemic lockdown/restrictions until 26th of January. Although the powers to be, are already telling us, not to expect a re-opening on the 26th ... it will be stages of who & what can have more people present.  Schools other than universities are set to return to in-class learning today, unless the forecast snow storm puts that on hold.

Currently there is no indoor dining, shops are at 50% capacity, gyms, theatres, fitness classes all closed.  Church weddings & funerals can only have a maximum of 10 people, social gatherings can only have 6 indoors, 10 outdoors.  Yes captivity stress has settled in for the foreseeable future ...

Currently Working On: My outline for 2022's One Little Word (OLW).  If you are hoping to read about the official methods & choice of one word for the year, please read no further ... this year I've gone rogue (& just saying that makes me feel rather adventurous).  Last year I did not settle on any OLW & being wordless for a year felt quite the rebellious move. In 2020 I tried to use Nourish. I had some success, but we really didn't dance much together throughout the year, which made me feel rather a failure.

So to OLW 2022. Starting back in later October/early November, I kept having a particular phrase about Change show up in my F/B feeds, my online feeds & the once all too many email notifications.  The Three C's of Life: choices, chances, change.  Along with the Universe's notification about change, I kept hearing in conversations & reading words that would ping a feeling in me when looking to change things.  Words like, reduce, restore, revisit, redefine, renew, recover, reclaim, respond, resistant, ... you see where this is going ... then the thought occurred to me, RE is my OLW. I wouldn't just settle on one, (reduce for a whole year?!?!). I decided on breaking down my OLW need into chunks of time & I settled on quarterly OLW.  My first quarter, January to March, committed word is Reduce; reduce clutter which I hope reduces anxiety which will  reduce weight because I'll reduce the amount of comfort mindless eating.  I am also reducing pressure on myself to do it all. The next quarter's OLW could be Restore or Recover, as we come out of winter lockdown. And in the 3rd quarter as weather improves, & most importantly, COVID numbers are dropping to management levels, I'll want to revisit, renew or reclaim my sense of freedom & adventure.   I have lots of RE words to play with;   Reduce; revisit; restore; renew, resistant, redirect, repair, resolve, relax, redo, review, refresh, release, reconciliation, remember, rekindle, rediscover, rebuild, readjust, rejoin, reflect, respect.

I was very interested to see that a few of you are also using RE words this year for your OLW. 

And I'll leave you with this thought ... "happiness lies in the joy of achievement & the thrill of creative effort.Franklin D. Rosevelt

24 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear that numbers of infections are still high enough to warrant such measures. There is major discontent here in the UK at the moment as it appears that at the times that we were in very strict lockdowns, our 'leaders' were busy having parties behind closed doors. One rule for us and a totally different one for them it would seem.
    I like the idea of choosing 'Re' as the beginning of your word/s for 2022, what a good idea to be able to change from one to another as the year unfolds!

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    1. 2020 saw a lot of government folks themselves not following the rules at Christmas, thankfully 2021 saw them all in line with the plan/program. I am very surprised that the UK isn't doing some sort of restrictions plan, reducing the numbers allowed to gather & such because the numbers are certainly very high for hospitalizations (according to my source). While we have a very successful rate of vaccinated (including boosters) the unvaccinated are clogging up the hospitals causing the restrictions for all. GRRR

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  2. What a lovely quote to leave us with. Good luck with your "re" words. I couldn't have chosen between all those good ones, either. And I am musing to myself that choices, chances and changes are clearly why I can never stick to OLW in the first place. I think I am going to forgo it for 2021, again. Thanks for helping me decide.

    I do hope you are out of lock-down soon. Around here none of the business are ever going back to lock-down, but they have ramped up the precautions again. Luckily our omicron surge is starting on a welcome downward trajectory. Let's hope we don't have to be educated on any other letters of the Greek alphabet.

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    1. It is a good quote. I am feeling quite positive about moving ahead with RE for my OLW. December's check in will tell the truth about my plan! That is fantastic news that Indiana is moving in the right direction of this Omicron surge.

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  3. You have a unique way of being in the world. I have no inclination for for such things as OLW. I don't think I am smart enough. 😀

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    1. Thanks John. I have no doubt from your own blog posts, that you are one very smart fellow plus I SO admire your connection you & Sue have with the kids & grandkids ...

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  4. Gosh, Covid is still making things awful for you, and coupled with the winter weather, it is no wonder you have Captivity Stress.

    Here in the UK, the majority of us are hugely annoyed with our current government, as it seems that we are learning daily about just many times the government broke its own Covid lockdown rules re gatherings.

    And as for your OLW, well, it does seem that we have been thinking along the same lines. I think that you have chosen a good way to live your RE words this year.

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    1. I will never believe that common sense is strong with many so relying on that to keep people health wise safe, is I guess why the government steps in. I'm beginning to be really cross with the unvaccinated, who are the ones that keeping this going ... I'll say no more. I'm hopeful that my new plan for OLW works for me.

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  5. I think a quarterly OLW is a brilliant idea. I just went back to review my OLW choices and nary a one started with "re" which frankly surprised me. I settled on a word early this year, and have been pondering a blog post about it all month. Although your lockdown seem so restrictive (once again!) I can appreciate the fact that it keeps you safe. Here we are relying on local governments and there are no lockdown rules to speak of, so everyone is left to their own devices. Masks are required in NY, but no establishment seems to be enforcing them. I will say, that most people here are abiding by them. Monday here is cold and covered with snow!!!

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    1. Karen, masks are still mandatory here in Ontario. I still believe that a national strategy would have been much more helpful, because province by province the rules change. The lockdowns are to suppose to be to be protect our health care system & workers ... for them I'll stay home.

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  6. Sorry to hear you are still in lockdown and hope the powers that be can bring infections under control before too long.

    I like your approach to OLW and will be interested to read how you get on. I also like the 'choices, chances and changes' - it's set bells ringing for me and I need to give it some thought.

    The silent to-dos and tolerances fits in with some of the reading I've been doing. Very interesting and very true. Prior to reading this post I'd already started putting together a list of things that need doing around the house and was aiming to do it at some time during the year. I can now see it is a much higher priority and will work out when I can devote some time to tackling the list. It'll be interesting to see how much difference it makes to my emotional well being. Many thanks Mary-Lou xx

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    1. I waff between the lockdowns are helping to the lockdowns are not a good thing ... thankfully though mask wearing is still mandatory & I respect the need to protect our health care system & the folks that work in it. I'm hoping my new approach to OLW will work for me. I cannot believe the change in my feelings about sorting & decluttering. I never thought of myself as a procrastinator but I think at the base that is maybe what tolerances are. Yes let's compare notes at the end of the first quarter :)

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  7. Luckily I love to declutter!! I am here in Ontario as well and not going anywhere, staying home being safe.

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    1. I was not one of those people that had great success in the first lockdowns with the decluttering. I stalled out very quickly with the emotional attachment to things. These two thoughts, tolerances & silent to do's really for what ever reason sparked in me. I'm more than ready to let things go ... to reduce.

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  8. Good thoughtful post, today. Re: captivity stress, our actual cat has taken to running as fast as he can from one end of the house to the other in the evening. He's feeling it, too. -Jenn

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    1. Thank you Jenn. I think if the weather was a little nicer I'd be more tempted for walks & wanders to help with the house bound feelings. I need to find if the library has DVD's of walking trails so I can watch as I walk on the treadmill.

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  9. I googled but couldn't find your decluttering and comforts of home links. I go through spurts of successful paring down but not lately.

    I'm glad I tend to be a homebody, though I miss lunches out. Oh, how I miss lunches out! :(

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    1. The Silent To Do Lists was sparked by uTube The Minminalist Mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpAbdv4d98 she will also link several other vids to watch about this. This link started the tolerances: https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2020/12/28/how-to-cleanse-your-home-of-negative-emotions/ Hope these links help. I miss breakfast out.

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  10. I would love to get the link for decluttering and comforts of home link.
    Interesting that only yesterday i purged a lot of things we were not using for some time.

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    1. The Silent To Do Lists was sparked by uTube The Minminalist Mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpAbdv4d98 she will also link several other vids to watch about this. Silent to Do's is based on the book "Goodbye Things" (forget the author).
      This link started the tolerances: https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2020/12/28/how-to-cleanse-your-home-of-negative-emotions/ Hope these links help.

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  11. This was such a great post, Mary-Lou! I have watched the "Silent To Do List", but, maybe I need to watch it again, because it didn't make much of an impact on me. Maybe I was 're'sistant to the concept? (Sorry, I don't know how to bold things when I am typing comments!) As for tolerances, I have a very high tolerance level to clutter and mess! LOL. I need to work on that! I like your quarterly OLW idea! My word of the year is also a "re" word: Resilient.

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    1. I wouldn't worry about the silent to do's - you'll find a message that will sing within you - that's what is surprising me most is that it did resonated within me. The book Goodbye Things is were this message originates from. I cannot get the book from my library :(

      I like your OLW of Resilient & I think it's going to be of good works in you this year :)

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  12. I read this with interest the day you posted but wanted to hold off commenting until I could look up silent to-dos and tolerances, as I have no idea what they are. I still haven't done it so I'm posting now before I forget all together.

    Will say that your shortlist of words sounds really good and constructive, and most of all the quarterly idea is genius. It will really help to maintain momentum and keep up interest/energy. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks Lady Ella, I'm liking my decisions around OLW & I do hope it works for me this year.

      The Silent To Do Lists was sparked by uTube The Minminalist Mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpAbdv4d98 she will also link several other vids to watch about this. Silent to Do's is based on the book "Goodbye Things" (forget the author).
      This link started the tolerances: https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2

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