I got thinking about the old adage "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" while reading an odd little book that reminded me of the Lemony Snickets series. Lois Lowry's The Willoughbys is quirky, satirical and ends hilariously.
Basically, the story goes a little something like this: the parents of the 4 Willoughby children are horrible, the family in general is miserable, and everyone is longing for something that they're missing. BUT, in the end (spoiler alert) they all end up happy (although not all necessarily alive) because they make the most of things going terribly wrong and take advantage of their misfortunes.
I can't say that it's always easy to see the good in horrible things. But sometimes, even when times are the worst, you get little glimpses of the good here and there. Even now, as we continue on with social distancing and home isolation there is a silver lining.
There are many silver linings to the mess that Covid-19 has created:
1. I have a renewed perspective on what's important to me; on what I can live with and without while still maintaining my happiness.
2. Being home all the time has given me the opportunity to spend more time with my children. Instead of desperately trying to reconnect with them in the precious few hours we would typically have after a full day of being apart, I am a part of their daily life. I don't have to catch up and question them to know what they've been up to and how they are doing.
3. I've seen my kids grow and develop in ways that I didn't expect. They have developed so many life skills in caring for the home and contributing to the family. Social distancing has given my children the opportunity to build their life skills in ways that were otherwise not possible.
4. I've rediscovered the joy of comfy clothes all day. I now realize that it's a throwback to my university days of attending tutorial in my PJ's and I'm not sure how I'm ever going to go back to regular clothing! Is there such as thing as professional stretchy pants?!
5. Slowing down and getting to those tasks that I otherwise find hard to get to. These things are on my "one day" list and I'm slowing but surely crossing them off and boy does that ever feel good!
6. Approaching life in the slow lane has its perks; what's wrong with sleeping in, managing my time more freely, relaxing at the end of the day and just settling down with a hot tea and a good old novel? This is a welcome change to the good old "go, go, go!" of everyday life.
What silver linings have you found recently? What transformations are you experiencing? In what ways are you turning these difficult times it into a opportunity for success?
We all have the chance to make a little Covid-19 lemonade if only we take the time to. And if you do, it sure does make this sour situation a little sweeter.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Monday, May 25, 2020
Tell Me What You Read and I'll Tell you Who You Want To Be
There have been countless times in my life when I have curled up into a cozy corner of my house, cuddled up with a comfy blanket, a warm tea by my side with my toes tucked up under me to get lost in a book. It wasn't until I read Leah Price's What We Talk About When We Talk About Books that I realized that I wasn't getting lost, in fact I was being found.
If you're thinking of reading this book what you need to know is that it is a book about the history of books and the future of reading. Price is a professor and the book has some very mixed reviews. Did I love it in its entirety? No. But am I glad I read it? Yes. There were so many aspects of it that I loved about this book as a bonafide book lover. So if you're like me, you might want to give it a spin.
To read this book is to discover the history of reading and the history of the book itself (not literature). Price explains how reading is not a dying art but rather an everlasting and ever changing enterprise. Although the book is a bit academic it is at the same time accessible. It is a bit long winded and sometime vague. But if you're looking to gain a better understanding of the history (and future) of books then this is the book for you.
One of my biggest takeaways from reading this book was regarding my relationship with books.
I always saw books as special and sacred things that I enjoyed privately but this book taught me that books were one of the first mass-produced and mass-marketed objects in history; if that doesn't take away from the specialness of books, then I don't know what would. That being said, even though books are mass produced and mass-marketed, each one is totally different because as people read, books change. No two readings are ever the same.
But one of the most moving realizations from this book is how books have historically been linked to illness and disease.
Price taught me that whether books are considered the cause or the cure for illness depends on what era you're in. As a literature lover, I never overtly thought about books from a medical perspective however I've always known that for me, books are my great healers; they are my therapy. As Price points out, reading can be be described as bibliotherapy.
Just as one can diagnose someone based on what medications they take, you can look at what one reads and know a thing or two about who they are and who they want to be.
I've always know that I turn to books as a form of self-help and healing. But I never considered that my personality and values could be diagnosed by what I read.
Now I'm wondering about who I am.
If I look back at what I've read over the years, what does that say about me? What am I searching for? Who do I want to become?
When I look back on my reading lists from the past few years of my personal reading challenge here's a run down about what I discovered:
- I want to be at peace with every aspect of my life
- I want to be able to accept myself and forgive myself for my imperfections
- I want to practice more creativity in my life
- I want to find the light in the darkness
- I want to be a better person for the people around me
- I want to better understand what happened during the Holocaust
- I want to help others become their best selves by bringing out the best in me
I wonder, if you were to go back over the books you've read recently, what they would say about you? Are you becoming the person you want to be or are you just drowning in a sea of books?
If you're thinking of reading this book what you need to know is that it is a book about the history of books and the future of reading. Price is a professor and the book has some very mixed reviews. Did I love it in its entirety? No. But am I glad I read it? Yes. There were so many aspects of it that I loved about this book as a bonafide book lover. So if you're like me, you might want to give it a spin.
To read this book is to discover the history of reading and the history of the book itself (not literature). Price explains how reading is not a dying art but rather an everlasting and ever changing enterprise. Although the book is a bit academic it is at the same time accessible. It is a bit long winded and sometime vague. But if you're looking to gain a better understanding of the history (and future) of books then this is the book for you.
One of my biggest takeaways from reading this book was regarding my relationship with books.
I always saw books as special and sacred things that I enjoyed privately but this book taught me that books were one of the first mass-produced and mass-marketed objects in history; if that doesn't take away from the specialness of books, then I don't know what would. That being said, even though books are mass produced and mass-marketed, each one is totally different because as people read, books change. No two readings are ever the same.
But one of the most moving realizations from this book is how books have historically been linked to illness and disease.
Price taught me that whether books are considered the cause or the cure for illness depends on what era you're in. As a literature lover, I never overtly thought about books from a medical perspective however I've always known that for me, books are my great healers; they are my therapy. As Price points out, reading can be be described as bibliotherapy.
Just as one can diagnose someone based on what medications they take, you can look at what one reads and know a thing or two about who they are and who they want to be.
I've always know that I turn to books as a form of self-help and healing. But I never considered that my personality and values could be diagnosed by what I read.
Now I'm wondering about who I am.
If I look back at what I've read over the years, what does that say about me? What am I searching for? Who do I want to become?
When I look back on my reading lists from the past few years of my personal reading challenge here's a run down about what I discovered:
- I want to be at peace with every aspect of my life
- I want to be able to accept myself and forgive myself for my imperfections
- I want to practice more creativity in my life
- I want to find the light in the darkness
- I want to be a better person for the people around me
- I want to better understand what happened during the Holocaust
- I want to help others become their best selves by bringing out the best in me
I wonder, if you were to go back over the books you've read recently, what they would say about you? Are you becoming the person you want to be or are you just drowning in a sea of books?
Monday, May 4, 2020
If You Feed It, It Will Grow
Can you name the movie with that famous line, "If you build it, they will come"? I can tell you that I have jokingly used that line many times not really thinking about what it actually means. In fact, I can still see the image of the baseball field and the ghost players coming out from among the corn stalks towards the diamond.
If you know what I'm talking about then you'd know that I'm talking about Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner.
If you know what I'm talking about then you'd know that I'm talking about Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
The Cream Always Rises (But Turds Also Float)
How many of you have found yourself in an unlikely shape because of the pressures from work, home, family, friends, or society? How many of you feel unrecognizable as you struggle to make it through the day?
I know I have.
One very distinct memory comes to mind when I think about pressure and how it changed me.
It was in 2013 when I changed work locations (not entirely because I wanted to) and I found myself in a new building, with new colleagues, new courses to teach, new curriculum to figure out and no department members that knew the school, students or staff. Both the department and the curriculum had been wiped clean like a blank slate and I found myself utterly alone and drowning the the amount of work that it takes to run a department pretty much alone and from scratch.
Looking back now, I realize that it was the most stressful work year of my life.
And the day I realized that the stress had changed me was when I was sitting in our basement office frantically working through yet another entire weekend just to complete lesson planning for the following week. I remember it was a cloudy November afternoon and when my youngest daughter walked into the room (again) and tried to get my attention (again) I turned to her then tiny 3 year old body and barked "WHAT?!" after she tried to gain my attention.
Her response to me made me freeze in my tracks.
When she dropped her head, eyes downcast to the floor, shoulders slouch moving slowly away from me she whispered apologetically, "Sorry mommy..." in response. That's when I knew something was deeply wrong.
Something had changed me.
In Allison Dickson's book The Other Mrs. Miller I was reminded of this moment when Wyatt said, "Pressure forces people into a lot of unlikely shapes." It rang true to me and not only did I recognize this in myself but also in what's happening in the world right now.
We typically live a life so full of appointments, responsibilities, events, meetings and get togethers that it's all too easy for us to loose sight of ourselves and become misshapen. Sometimes the pressures are situational and temporary - like my story of starting a new position at a new location. As stressful as that year was, it eventually came to and end.
But often it's simply how we go on living our lives day to day that wreaks havoc on us. We go about doting all the I's and crossing all the T's just so that we can say we're doing our part - but it ultimately makes us unrecognizable in the end. It causes us to change shape and lose sight of who we are.
Even in terms of the characters in this book we see how quickly they become twisted and misshapen doing things that (at least to me) are absolutely inconceivable. Even though this book made me question the goodness in people and the lengths people will go to get what they want in life, it was also interesting as I wanted to figure out how twisted and sick people can get. It's far from any experience I've ever had but it spoke to the human experience of pressure wreaking havoc on one's life.
You'd think that as things get ugly one would stop and say, "NO. This is not what I want in life." But this book showed me that under pressure we change shape and don't necessarily do anything about it likely because we can get away with it. As Phoebe's best friend Vicki points out, "The cream always rises. But turds also float."
Why make a change if what you're doing is working for you in some way?
Let me ask you this my dear readers, when the pressure is on are you the cream or are you the turd?
Because now that some of the pressure is off and we're spending our time going to much fewer places, generally doing less things, and seeing less people, we have the capacity to make some change.
Many people are feeling the pressure of home-bound living, social distancing and self-isolation citing boredom and anxiety as their primary ailments but some are not.
Some, like me, are taking a careful look at who they are and how they live their lives. Some people are taking this time to get back "in shape" now that the pressure is off. Even though we've given up so much and lost so many of our freedoms, we have a chance to find ourselves again.
Most notably I feel like now that the pressure is off I feel like I have the time to tune into what really matters to me the most. To take care of those things that I truly care about and that are within my control. It's given me this rare opportunity to live my life in a different shape.
What about you? What shape do you find yourself in?
I know I have.
One very distinct memory comes to mind when I think about pressure and how it changed me.
It was in 2013 when I changed work locations (not entirely because I wanted to) and I found myself in a new building, with new colleagues, new courses to teach, new curriculum to figure out and no department members that knew the school, students or staff. Both the department and the curriculum had been wiped clean like a blank slate and I found myself utterly alone and drowning the the amount of work that it takes to run a department pretty much alone and from scratch.
Looking back now, I realize that it was the most stressful work year of my life.
And the day I realized that the stress had changed me was when I was sitting in our basement office frantically working through yet another entire weekend just to complete lesson planning for the following week. I remember it was a cloudy November afternoon and when my youngest daughter walked into the room (again) and tried to get my attention (again) I turned to her then tiny 3 year old body and barked "WHAT?!" after she tried to gain my attention.
Her response to me made me freeze in my tracks.
When she dropped her head, eyes downcast to the floor, shoulders slouch moving slowly away from me she whispered apologetically, "Sorry mommy..." in response. That's when I knew something was deeply wrong.
Something had changed me.
In Allison Dickson's book The Other Mrs. Miller I was reminded of this moment when Wyatt said, "Pressure forces people into a lot of unlikely shapes." It rang true to me and not only did I recognize this in myself but also in what's happening in the world right now.
We typically live a life so full of appointments, responsibilities, events, meetings and get togethers that it's all too easy for us to loose sight of ourselves and become misshapen. Sometimes the pressures are situational and temporary - like my story of starting a new position at a new location. As stressful as that year was, it eventually came to and end.
But often it's simply how we go on living our lives day to day that wreaks havoc on us. We go about doting all the I's and crossing all the T's just so that we can say we're doing our part - but it ultimately makes us unrecognizable in the end. It causes us to change shape and lose sight of who we are.
Even in terms of the characters in this book we see how quickly they become twisted and misshapen doing things that (at least to me) are absolutely inconceivable. Even though this book made me question the goodness in people and the lengths people will go to get what they want in life, it was also interesting as I wanted to figure out how twisted and sick people can get. It's far from any experience I've ever had but it spoke to the human experience of pressure wreaking havoc on one's life.
You'd think that as things get ugly one would stop and say, "NO. This is not what I want in life." But this book showed me that under pressure we change shape and don't necessarily do anything about it likely because we can get away with it. As Phoebe's best friend Vicki points out, "The cream always rises. But turds also float."
Why make a change if what you're doing is working for you in some way?
Let me ask you this my dear readers, when the pressure is on are you the cream or are you the turd?
Because now that some of the pressure is off and we're spending our time going to much fewer places, generally doing less things, and seeing less people, we have the capacity to make some change.
Many people are feeling the pressure of home-bound living, social distancing and self-isolation citing boredom and anxiety as their primary ailments but some are not.
Some, like me, are taking a careful look at who they are and how they live their lives. Some people are taking this time to get back "in shape" now that the pressure is off. Even though we've given up so much and lost so many of our freedoms, we have a chance to find ourselves again.
Most notably I feel like now that the pressure is off I feel like I have the time to tune into what really matters to me the most. To take care of those things that I truly care about and that are within my control. It's given me this rare opportunity to live my life in a different shape.
What about you? What shape do you find yourself in?
Friday, May 1, 2020
Find Your Purpose and Reset Your Life
There's been a lot of news out there recently. I admit that I scour the headlines everyday (sometimes twice a day) to keep up with what's going on in the world and especially because I want to stay abreast of what's happening the the global fight against Covid-19. Too often the news I read is merely informative, scary or frustrating. That being said, every now and again I come across something that is worth my while.
The following article has to be one of the best things I've come across recently and thought it would a good idea to share it with you my dear readers as it is very much in line with this blog.
Please take a moment to read and let me know what you think:
Finding Purpose In This Pandemic: Use This Crisis To Reset Your Life
At the end of the article are some very poignant questions. If you feel so inclined I'd love to hear your response to any of these questions:
What values do I want my life to stand for?
The following article has to be one of the best things I've come across recently and thought it would a good idea to share it with you my dear readers as it is very much in line with this blog.
Please take a moment to read and let me know what you think:
Finding Purpose In This Pandemic: Use This Crisis To Reset Your Life
At the end of the article are some very poignant questions. If you feel so inclined I'd love to hear your response to any of these questions:
What values do I want my life to stand for?
What mark do I wish to make?
What kind of person do I want to be others?
At life’s end, how do I want to measure success?
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