Notes from the (social) distance: Day 10, the Story

Image courtesy of Lucy

I've got some reflections for you today. Hang on for the ride!

The Story

The birds are carrying on as if nothing is wrong. Same with the crocuses and the tree buds. But I don't like the story we're living in these days. It's a sucky story which I would not choose for any of us. I usually feel pretty in control of my day to day life, but this virus has upended a lot of that. I find myself feeling like a character in a story that I'm not writing, like Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction.


Making a Safe Space for Feelings
Image courtesy of Lucy
I don't like not being in control (who does??), and have had lots of emotional responses to this situation this past week. I'm trying to make space for them, especially for anger, which is not an emotion I usually feel comfortable expressing. I've often thought, what's the point of expressing it, since it won't change anything. But the point is that I'll feel better afterwards. It's like I'm a river with lots of feelings rushing through me, all of them valuable and worthwhile. Instead of damming up certain ones, I just need to let them flow through my body (in ways that don't hurt others, of course). I've found hitting pillows and yelling works well, or even just imagining that in my head.


Changing the Story

The other way I'm coping is by trying to find ways I can change the story, at least my part of it. Glennon Doyle has a great quote about this in her book Untamed:

"The plot of our lives is largely out of our control. We decide only the  response of the main character. We decide whether we will be the one who jumps ship or the one who stays and leads."

So I'm going to keep trying to love and show up for myself and Matt and the girls.
We're calling this 'controlling what you can when things feel out of control.'
Read more: https://ficquotes.com/quotes/7116/


 Weekend Highlights


Watching Frozen II

Two friends stopped by (from afar) to decorate our driveway or drop off presents; so nice to see them and chat


Family zoom call with my parents and my sister and her family



Family walk in the woods

I'm feeling a lot better!

The light in my honors the light in you,
Elizabeth 

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Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 24, 2020 at 11:08 AM

    I hear you... It's unsettling... But there is something beautiful about spending so much time with our little nuclear families too

    ReplyDelete

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