here is a list of 10 things i have received as a gift through all of this:
1. Calmness: In today’s world, we were ignited daily with after school to do lists and activity! Don’t get me wrong the value in extracurricular for our children’s health and mind remains if not more valuable now then ever before, but the calmness this year off has presented to all five of us was a gift within itself!
2. This guides me to number two- The truest realization to the benefits of extracurricular activities for ourselves and more, our children’s minds! The hustle and bustle might have stopped but our ambitions and motivations fluctuated without the drill of routine activities! My children cultivated entertainment through the internet which created addiction and a sense of boredom when we take it! I learned the value of screen free time to rest their mind, and mine. We all had to learn to rest from social media which allowed us to broaden our creative play muscles!
3. Books were brought in, for mental stimulation! I have enjoyed two books this year and my goal is to keep growing my reading with a goal of one a month for the year- what a way to let go of screens and get lost in a story surrounded by a peaceful reading atmosphere!
4. Outdoor experiences – we played more than years before: snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, sliding, sledding, GT’ing, and skating kept us busy as we headed outside for sunshine!
5. A strong interconnection with staff built into a friendship and support system! Our team in health supported on and leaned upon one another more than before – it was all we had with the guidelines so restricted! What a great thing to have and it will continue to only strengthen as we reach to surpass covid!
6. Art: As a family of five, we dived into an online painting canvas class which all of us found wellness through this, even the dad!
7. The gift to see, front and center, the root too all our anxieties! It’s not the disease it’s self, it’s how we build and perceive this wealth! Learning to see that the stressors we face each and everyday are not the harmful substances by themselves, it’s generally the internal stories that we have built up on them that triggers overwhelm. I am learning to see and breathe.
8. Yoga. A chance to meditate and flex- all rolled into one, a gift of time for self care and finding my centeredness! My theory from before told me sweat to benefit -yet now, i’m holding still in flexible poses and building core as a foundation then i can explore more!
9. An awakening to my hunger cue- i discovered that through all the chaos of the world, i was no longer reaching for emotional food- sometimes. My body was often not truly hungry, but i would fuel just because- so i learned to let go of the unnecessary in between feeding stuff!
10. We are all interconnected. Either in good times or bad, we are a thread! One choice of a stranger can induce a ripple of flavour! Use this as a time to understand, every single choice we make will influence thousands beyond that!
Shiftyourlifedesign 