Lessons From February
Handling disappointment, expressing gratitude and more.
Life always comes in seasons. Seasons of uncertainty. Seasons of peace. Seasons of hope.
It is difficult to anticipate what season accompanies each turn on this journey. We may end up making plans and setting expectations for things we want to achieve in the near future, only to be hit by the unexpected. Such was the month of February for me. I started my year with a sense of positivity and excitement to honour my pace and slow down when my body asked me to, only to be slammed by endless tasks that demanded my attention.
This season of life looks different than what I had imagined. I have finally made peace with it. Because in the middle of discomfort and uncertainty is where we grow the most. Sometimes, taking life one day at a time may be the best thing to do for our mental peace. If life right now doesn’t look like what you had expected it to be, I feel you. You are not alone. I hope you remember that like every other season, this too shall pass.
Lessons from February
The easiest way to practice gratitude every day is by whispering to yourself ‘thank you’ anytime you experience something that makes you smile. The other day, I saw a tiny heart-shaped thread on my sweater while working on a complex task at work. I smiled and whispered thank you. Life felt more doable after that.
The older you get, the more difficult it will be for peace to stay in your life. All the loose threads will start to tangle. You will struggle to show up for yourself, and also for others. You will feel time slipping away from your hands as tasks pile up on your to-do list. If none of this excites you, be intentional about making room for peace in life. Create little breaks that allow you to start over at any point during the day. Something as simple as a fifteen-minute walk or a midday shower can do wonders.
More often than not, you will know when you outgrow places or people. The longer you choose to stay past that realisation, the harder it gets to heal the damage that follows. You have one way or the other to choose in that case - reignite happiness exactly where you are or leave right away.
Every relationship is accompanied by disappointment. But the most difficult type of disappointment to get over is the one you have with yourself. Most of us are harder on ourselves than we need to be. Learn to give yourself some grace in moments where you feel like you are not enough, or not doing enough. There are plenty of people in this world to highlight the mess-ups you make along the way anyway.
Burning yourself out to achieve your goals may not prove to be fruitful in the long run. Nurturing yourself as you head towards your goals will at least leave you alive enough to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain you climb.
THIS WEEK’s RECOMMENDATIONS
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There's so much juice here, and I'm not just saying that. I've been toying around with changing the name of my pub to "One Day at a Time". It seems to be popping up everywhere. Life's felt impossible at times of late, and some of these words makes one feel less alone.
This REALLY resonated : "Sometimes, taking life one day at a time may be the best thing to do for our mental peace."
It sounds like the world is demanding a lot from you at the moment. From all of us, seemingly. I see the calm in your aura in the candid you shared. It's my sincere hope you find ways to reconnect with moments like those despite everything going on.
To that I call on this bit of wisdom, "Something as simple as a fifteen-minute walk or a midday shower can do wonders." Today I had a moment with a phone free morning & homemade latte. It felt amazing to be fully there with such a simple pleasure.
This is a subject widely spoken on and sentiments echoed frequently, from almost everyone I know, whether in person or in communities like this one. But the way you summed it all up is so clear, concise, and hopeful, while lending credit to the reality that it's all hard. I love the practice of whispering thank-you. I've done that for years now, and it was a sweet moment to read that in your post.<3