Words of Wisdom – The Pandemic Edition

 

 

Take a lesson from a plant – be kind.

 

This is our time to be kind, be calm, and be safe* ~ Dr. Bonnie Henry

If you live in a specific part of Canada, you see and hear these words everywhere.  It’s an excellent way for the government to say “mellow out.” These words are heard on daily news updates, seen on signage, t-shirts, posters; they are everywhere.  It’s one thing to be kind and tolerant of others, I think we all learned how to do that in pre-school, but it’s an entirely different kind of animal to be kind to yourself.

To be kind is an action. You have to do something.

Here are some ideas on how to be kind to ourselves.

• Set aside some time to do something you love.  Paint, practice piano, read, write, hike, cook. Do whatever you love to do (try to pick an activity that doesn’t involve screens).
• Forgive yourself. Look, we all mess up. We wouldn’t be human if we were perfect.  If you need to apologize to someone – do that. And then forgive yourself.  Once you forgive and move on, you will be able to sleep (and to sleep is to be kind to yourself).  I promise you.  Being scared and exhausted is just not worth it. Say to yourself that you messed up, think about the situation from a loving standpoint, and then learn the lesson.  It can be that easy.
• Reward yourself for getting stuff done.  I got all of my homework done yesterday (ahead of schedule), and I rewarded myself with a banana sticker.  It made me happy.  When was the last time you got a sticker – was it in the 4th grade?  If so, it’s time to earn another.
• Tell the judgemental voice in your head to shove it, and let your booster club do their thing.  If you aren’t familiar with the inner booster club, these are the encouraging voices in your head; they are loud and supportive and will cheer you on when you need them.  They are the motivators, and they are good at telling our egos to chill out and have some fun.
• Pretend you are a plant. Make sure you get enough light, fresh air, water, and nutrients every day. Try to talk to at least one person a day. Actively listen to that person. Plants are beautiful listeners. Be like a plant.
• Keep track of what you are good at.  Who cares if you can’t do a layup or colour within the lines. It’s what you can do that matters.  Make a list of what you can do – look at it, and add to it often.
• Start using the adverb yet. As in, “I can’t get this sentence to make sense – yet.”  Eventually, it will all come together.  The “yet” is potential.
• Mantras – use them.  I will share mine with you.  “Believe in yourself, O wondrous one.” Claim it as your own.
• Plan. Do you have a dream?  What’s stopping you from achieving it? Make the dream a reality.
• Treat yourself like you treat your best friend.
• Allow yourself to be who you are supposed to be. The world doesn’t want you to be exactly like your boss or your neighbour.  The only people who think they want that would be your boss and your neighbour.  And that is just not a good idea.

Now that you have some tips on being kind to yourself,  you can do things to your space that could make life a little more kind. Mosey on over to our youtube channel and learn how to make your lighting a little more mellow.

*This is the first post in a 3 part series – you can read more about the chill-out “mandate” to help you thrive during the rest of the pandemic in the coming months, as we are getting a bit tired of all this stuff.

** Photo Source – Pinterest – The Anthurium (the flower of kindness)