Tag Archives: pandemic
At the turn of the year, I ask you to take stock of everything that is going WELL in your life right now. If you’re having a difficult time thinking of anything, here’s one thing to consider: if you can read this, you have access to the internet and the ability to read. This isn’t my attempt to “doom shame” you, and it isn’t meant to minimize the extreme suffering experienced by millions of people this year. However, it is…..
As someone who works in media and publishing, I literally get paid to be online. Immersed in the sea of toots, updates and hashtags, I marinate in bits, bytes and bon mots (and mal mots?) each day. It can be difficult for me to disengage my brain from the firehose of data that streams past me every day. However, I have found that it’s bad for my mental health to spend too much time in the digital realm. Since social…..
If you’ve been staying in and self-isolating during the pandemic, first of all: thank you. When we are asked to do something to help, most of us look to the grand or sweeping gestures, the BIG sacrifices to make a difference. During this extremely stressful time, we are asked to be still. Being still is difficult for me. My grandmother used to call me the Dutch Cleanser Girl (it’s an advertising reference to a powdered cleanser that had a similar…..
You’ve probably heard of the phrase, ‘the calm before the storm,’ but there’s a calm after the storm, too. There’s a lull in energy—a drop from the frenzy of the storm—followed by the slow, methodical sifting through the wreckage it caused. Going through the pieces that were broken and altered by the storm takes time. Deciding what to keep and what needs to be thrown away is an exercise in discernment. Once you’ve taken an inventory of what’s worth saving,…..
For most of us, we’ve experienced over two years of some version of lockdown. It has been a period of trauma and uncertainty. Even with the vaccine rollouts, there will be months, if not years of recalibration ahead of us. Early on during Quarantine Life, I sent out a message in response to a “hustle porn” tweet that essentially said if you don’t emerge from lockdown without having mastered a second language, launching your next company etc., you were a…..
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the feelings of loneliness many of us have been experiencing (even we introverts who are more comfortable than most with being alone). Sending out an S.O.S. can be difficult for everyone, but it’s especially difficult for “strong” people. I speak with authority on the subject, because I’m generally someone that many consider a strong and resilient person. Spoiler alert: there are occasions when I absolutely need help. Today, I’ll share a few of the reasons…..
Did you know: Happiness is a state of being that you can adjust, like a thermostat on your wall. Everyone is born with a pre-determined Happiness Set Point®. Some of us have a higher setting, while some of us are natural-born Eeyores. The good news is that you have the power to change yours, regardless of the external circumstances in your life. About four and a half years ago, I got my heart broken, but good. It took me three…..
Today’s post is a brain dump toward my next book—a work in progress. One day, while walking to my neighborhood Starbucks, I happened to pass a man walking his dog. He resembled the stereotypical “Chic-kah-go” guy from the SNL “da Bears” skit featuring George Wendt and the late Chris Farley. As he walked, I was able to overhear his end of the conversation in snippets: “Yeah, well it ends in September and then they’ll have to go back to work.”…..