occasionally subtle
$LAYYYTER
izzy's playlists!
KIROKAZE
Cosmic Funnies
ellievsbear
sheepfilms
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
blake kathryn
hello vonnie
Not today Justin
Origami Around
Jar Jar Binks Fan Club
todays bird
No title available
TMBGareOK. The Official They Might Be Giants tumblr
No title available
Kiana Khansmith
h
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
seen from Türkiye
seen from Brazil
seen from Iraq
seen from Kenya
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Indonesia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Finland
seen from South Africa
seen from United States
seen from United States
@kate-mooney-blr
The Handbook to Humaning - Digital Download
Wellbeing is a deeply personal thing—a specific felt sense we can all identify once we experience it. Life experiences can sometimes cause us to lose connection to our well-being, even forgetting the feeling entirely. Nonetheless, certain ideas and strategies can help us find, come back to, or stay connected with our sense of well-being. It is never gone; it is something we carry within…
The Handbook to Humaning - Physical Copy
Wellbeing is a deeply personal thing—a specific felt sense we can all identify once we experience it. Life experiences can sometimes cause us to lose connection to our well-being, even forgetting the feeling entirely. Nonetheless, certain ideas and strategies can help us find, come back to, or stay connected with our sense of well-being. It is never gone; it is something we carry within…
What is Self Care, really?
The term “Self Care” has been so over used in recent years I think most people kind of let their eyes glaze over when the topic is raised. Otherwise the general examples people give are bubble baths and glasses of wine. Eating ice cream after a tough day. Though these things can be lovely I would offer they are more indulgances than self care. Please do not take that as discouragement. We need…
View On WordPress
Dance
I don’t dance simply dance, I am compelled to movement. Capture by sound, driven – as a tree driven to sway by the wind. Dance, the language of my soul. Wordless, profoundly expressive. Deeply personal, powerfully unifying. As life animates the body music calls upon a primal story telling. Indescribeable emotions of life, vast in their depth, excruciatingly beautiful, painful,…
View On WordPress
Expectations
I have always told my kids to strive for fair and not to expect it. There is no doubt in my mind life is made better in the trying. If the majority of us endeavour to fairness more will thrive and in my opinion that’s ultimately in everyone’s best interest. A thriving community supports a good life. Expectation on the other hand is an invitation to suffering. Life is inherently unfair. From the…
View On WordPress
Push Back
2020 is such a nice round number. It’s somehow satisfying to write and to say, yet the year itself was something completely contrary. It was a year littered with angst and turmoil across the globe. We had high hopes for 2021 and quickly realized there was more to come. Pandemic life is hard. Change, loneliness, uncertainty, anxiety, grief. They all weigh heavily on us along with financial strain…
View On WordPress
Wishing
I have no other wishes but to gently touch the sleepy cheeks of humanity and wake them to the beauty of this life. Let me whisper in every ear. “You are seen, you are whole, you are loved.” This is YOUR life! Peel away the layers of self doubt. Reject the ever tightening shackles of blame, anger and fear. TAKE life in, for all it’s bold colors, flavors and feelings. This world was not made…
View On WordPress
An interview with myself...
An interview with myself…
I have always wanted my own private practice. I can’t put words to the depth to which I feel called to ‘be’ there for others, to listen, support goals and champion confidence in others. It’s my jam. Over the years I have had countless friends and collegues express support and encouragement of this goal. Despite all my efforts to ‘walk the talk’ there was a wee small voice in the back of my mind…
View On WordPress
The Big Wow
How did it all begin? Why are we here? What does it all mean? These are the age old questions. Questions that have compelled, perplexed and tormented countless humans through history. Quite honestly I couldn’t care less! Don’t get me wrong. I would LOVE to know if there was or is some magnificent being, a catastrophic even, a plan, any of it!Then again, wouldn’t answers just lead to more…
View On WordPress
Humans
The story of humanity is clumsy and marred with disgrace. Yet collectively we have never stopped striving for better. We steadily raise our standards and seek to live up to those standards. Humans as creatures are flawed. We have greed, ignorance and arrogance to contend with. We are also loving. We have forgiveness, resilience and profound creativity to work with. Sometimes our high standards…
View On WordPress
Staying Well in Mind and Body
View On WordPress
Learn to Breathe
Just a little – and often… I can not emphasize enough, the power and importance of breath. The one thing we carry with us at every moment of every day. Free, completely available at any moment. Socially acceptable, subtle and effective.The key – you have to breathe effectively – and many people don’t. Stress, anxiety and hurried lives establish patterns of short quick breathing which triggers…
View On WordPress
Why Walk and Talk Counselling sessions are "Wellness Power Tools"
Why Walk and Talk Counselling sessions are “Wellness Power Tools”
https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_suzuki_the_brain_changing_benefits_of_exercise?language=en Covid 19 has challenged us all. It has been a stress and difficult adjustment for most. Change is hard, it’s exhausting! We can feel disorientated, full of anxiety and grief. We struggle with fatigue, everything that we were already coping with remains in place and often just feels harder. No wonder we all…
View On WordPress
LEAN IN...
LEAN IN…
Throughout my teens and twenties I had an on and off relationship with a complicated man. It was not a smooth ride for us. We were not meant to be forever partners, however we did form a deep bond and a life long friendship. He was a huge part of my life. Knowing him was formulative for me. I learned a lot about my character through knowing him. I grew, became more worldly, more wise and…
View On WordPress
HARMONIZE, by Raising Appalachia
My husband once tried to explain to me, using music, what it felt like to be around me. He played some sort.of smooth jazz. It was cute, I felt flattered. It got be thinking, what music makes ME feel the way I WANT others to feel around me….that’s a tough one! This song is a front runner though. When Harmonize plays I am filled with joy and hope and a sense of connection. I want to dance, I feel…
View On WordPress
The Wellness Trifecta
Over the years I have come to recognize that there are certain truths to wellness and recovery. One of the biggest ones – our needs are not complicated. That’s not to say it’s easy work! In fact in my experience it can feel like a full time job. Yet, there is a certain relief in the understanding that there is no secret we have been left out on. There is no magic formula we must quest to find.…
View On WordPress
Photo by VisionPic .net on Pexels.com
Photo by Victoria Borodinova on Pexels.com
The response to COVID 19 as an international crisis has, for the most part, been impressive. As a lover of humans and a believer in resilience I think this has been a big beautiful example of a lot of the strength and creativity that exists within us all. I say this, with an edge of concern that has been creeping up more and more each day. Honestly, I think many people are doing “too good”. Let me try to explain what I mean.
In every day life, pre COVID 19 there was a fairly high level of stress, over commitment and generally high expectations placed on the majority. These pressures came from every direction. Ourselves, our work places, the media, social media. The pervasive message was DO more, GO faster, BE better! It was SICK. Then came COVID 19 and for a few weeks there was a collective exhale. Everyone (theoretically) was suddenly on the same page. Nowhere to be, no ‘have to’ no ‘supposed to’. Just shelter in place and try not to freak out. It was good. Many of us felt it was a healthy reminder and maybe a chance to reset priorities, change some habits. Then it started…the adapting, the marching on.
YES!! Adapting is good, we need to. We also need a chance to grieve, to take note of the powerful sense of loss, discombobulation, and separation. Where did that go? It’s not something we can just SKIP! It worries me deeply to hear parents stressing over how to home school and work from home, and get the meals done, fulfill their child’s social needs etc. making life run smoothly while managing these vastly different and conflicting tasks. It seems to me we are placing too much emphasis on doing this WELL and not enough emphasis on the fact that we are having to do this suddenly, without choice, training or preparation. During a time in which we need to go gently we are instead allowing old habits to make it another round of stress, poured with a heavy hand. It worries me for us all, but it worries me most for our kids. Because it’s NOT NORMAL. EVERYTHING IS NOT THE SAME.
Our kids need a chance to grieve. (As do we) They don’t necessarily have the vocabulary or emotional awareness to identify what is going on within. It probably comes out in the form of grumpiness, extreme energy or fatigue, defiance, anger, clinging neediness or some other shift. Some of our children become demanding – some reclusive. Some of our children seek structure, some defy all requests to follow routine. Some become very different, some just exaggerated version of their same selves. We need to be PRESENT to recognize and witness the signs of their distress so that we can respond and support them. We can’t do that when we are wrapped up in getting our 8 hour days in, managing our case loads the same as before and keeping the laundry pile in check. SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE. A lot actually, a lot has to give.
Our children may have been excited for the first few weeks. Some children may surely be enjoying this time at home, but it is NOT a vacation and they know it. They have suddenly lost their sense of connection to friends, family, teachers. They are going through a disorientating experience. Looking to adults for information and cues about how to handle this. We don’t have a lot of information to give – so our cues are vital. Unfortunately, our kids don’t have to option to just go on like nothing happened. AND WHY SHOULD THEY? Something HUGE has happened. It’s still happening. They went from having daily structure routines, out door play times 3 times a day, stimulation and laughter. To ‘safe at home’. They went from play dates and trips to the corner store to ‘safe at home’. Our kids can’t go to chuck a ball at the park, or fly a kit, or run off some energy at the track – because parks and school grounds are closed. These little humans have shown heroic levels of patience and flexibility – but they are hurting.
Emotions aren’t something to chase away, not something to ignore. If we do not allow emotions they will take over in new and creative ways until we pay attention. For our own sake, as well as our children – we need to make room for some grief. We need to take some time to cry, talk about what sucks, talk about what we miss and what we look forward to being able to do. We need to hug our children and acknowledge that this is HARD. We need to hold them and listen to them and NOT try to force them to adapt until they have had a chance to acknowledge how much this sucks.
Emotions don’t come once. They don’t take turns and leave. They arrive in unpredictable waves. We can vacillate between extremes and it can happen fast or slow. Everyone is different, every day can be different. Our children need us to get that through our own heads – so we can respond to their needs with validation and support. DO NOT SAY “it’s okay – it’s not so bad, don’t cry”. Say “It’s hard isn’t it, I know, it’s hard for me too. Would you like a snuggle?” Do not yell and scream and berate them for being grumpy. Let them know it’s understandable to have grumpy days when so much change has happened. Let them know you have grumpy days too and offer some suggestions about how they can let it out appropriately – join them!
Sometimes we simply can not put words to our emotions. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any. That doesn’t mean they aren’t real, or valid. Ask your child (or self or loved one) “how does it feel in your body?”. Often when we observe our emotions even without labels, we begin to understand and find ways to support ourselves. Or we become able to compare and remember similar experiences – making it easier to talk, we feel less alone.
Coping and creativity in response to COVID 19 have already been quite amazing. I believe the next phase will be the emergence of new modes of social engagement. If our children are allowed to grieve, their creative little souls will begin finding and seeking (pun intended) ways to be with their friends from a safe social distance. They will find their way through. We have to free them from trying to live like normal – so they can find a new normal, and thrive.
KATE
Our Kids and COVID 19 The response to COVID 19 as an international crisis has, for the most part, been impressive. As a lover of humans and a believer in resilience I think this has been a big beautiful example of a lot of the strength and creativity that exists within us all.