July is over. The Indiana State Fair is in full swing; school is open, tomatoes and corn are ripe. Strawberries are long gone and the heat and humidity are wreaking havoc on our flower pots.  

A New Compassion for Those Who Live With Chronic Pain

Last week I suffered a bout with shingles, but I was fortunate. Resting when I felt tired, avoiding stress, caring for the rash with ointment and bandages, and an antiviral prescription, took care of it in one week. On Sunday morning, I awakened to the noticeable relief from what had been hurting me and a new compassion for those who live with chronic pain, understanding how it could become all-consuming.

Energized by the relief, I threw in a load of laundry, put away my shoes that were piling up by the back door, took a long walk, and began acknowledging it was time to take inventory, regroup, and plan. Fall is coming.

Reality is, for the past few weeks, I’ve been less than faithful to my morning practice of journaling and reading my daily Nested Meditation. And then a week of not being able to work out, do yoga, or walk beyond a saunter, made me feel like a slug.

Reset

My To Do list began with “Center and Journal.” I caught up on my daily readings. The August 1st entry discussed opening our mind to wonder rather than having it closed by belief, followed by August 2nd on how a cluttered mind blocks our best thoughts. 

Page after page, I dumped my cluttered mind into my journal. I made lists. I worked on scheduling visits with kids and wrote emails and sent text messages to folks with whom I hope to connect before we head west for the winter. An abridged version appears below.

Things I’m Loving, Excited about, Grateful For:

• My new electric toothbrush
• Reinstituting Wednesday Date Night
• Plans to connect with family and friends
• Upcoming visits with kids and grandkids
• Book Club and a book that’s capturing my attention (I was beginning to think I was never going to be able to focus and enjoy reading again) 
• My neighborhood, neighbors
• Indiana Summer
• Wordle 
• WordPlay (because Wordle is not enough)
• A partner who plays Wordle and WordPlay with me
• My gym moved to a gorgeous, new space–with windows! 
• Restored health
• The mental/emotional boost I enjoy from exercise

Disappointments and Worry Marbles:

• A canceled vacation back in June
• The shame of not preempting shingles with the vaccine–it was on my list of things to do.
• I did not win, place, or show in the summer writing contest I entered. Eighteen writers out of 609 entrants were acknowledged, but I stood with the 591 who didn’t receive even so much as an honorable mention. 
• Still looking for that perfect rental house for the winter. 
• The United States Senate
• Indiana politics

Finally, I asked the Universe to guide me toward ways to make the world a better place and help me have a mind free from the clutter that blocks my best thinking. I congratulate myself for stepping into the arena of the writing contest. And I visualize that perfect winter rental within a few miles from the Phoenix kids. 

P.S. In case you’re wondering, I won’t be posting my Wordle stats any time soon.