Pinch

Some days are like that. Even in Australia. Remember Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst? It's a children's book I loved to read to my kids. Everything went wrong for poor Alexander and he just kept wishing for escape to Australia. Finally, his mom explained the ugly truth to him. The facts don't change, but your interpretation can. Left the plants out to harden then forgot to bring them back in? Pretty stinky. Audit by the IRS? Rotten. Funeral? Worse. Calamity, death and taxes happen - even in Australia.

Again, the point of these stories is to take the ordinary and turn it into deliberate practice to create growth. Ordinary people handle terrible situations well - every day. People who intentionally practice using mindfulness (the ability to be present to our emotions and lives with calm acceptance)and their character strengths find those things ready and available in hard times. Curiosity, kindness, persistence, optimism, hope, spirituality, humor, creativity, courage? If we have them, we need to use them with gusto and regularity. We never know when we'll need them for more heavy duty purposes. It takes time to build habits that include self care - exercise and a friendly relationship to healthy food; meditation; - and care for our relationships - compassion for ourselves and others; kind acts. If we live, there will be hard times. We need the buffers that help us cope with them. Hoping you have the wisdom to cultivate fun, relationship and accomplishment and little need for them in a pinch. XOXO