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the big orange house
Summerside, PE
902-439-4562

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  • who am i
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tuesday truths...being present

January 19, 2021 Arlene Giddings

as part of my
#glow2021
word for the year,
i have been trying to
be present
more of the time,
for all the little things
as well as the big.

noticing.
listening.
feeling.
absorbing.

i am trying to be conscious
of my day to day life….
of my fingers
clicking on the keyboard,
rolling the words
i want to say
around in my mouth
like candy,
sweet and sour,
soft and chewy.

i eat slower
focusing on each bite,
letting myself savor the saltiness,
the blackberries that burst with juice,
sip my tea slowly,
watching the steam curl above
the polka dot mug.

i put my phone on “focus” time…
no access to social media
helps me to fight the urge to
constantly check it
which was a hard itch not to scratch at first
but is getting easier
and makes me feel calmer.

i watch one show a night
so i have to be picky about what that will be.
then the rest of the night
is either reading, yoga, editing photos, drawing or
just listening to cowboy junkies
and leonard cohen
in the semi darkness of the remaining
christmas lights
in my living room
with a pug on one side
and a cat by my shoulder.

hot showers.
vanilla candles.
looking out the window for the sunrise,
for the sunset.
fuzzy socks.
early bedtimes with a heated blanket.
counting my breaths…
finding my focus,
listening and paying attention.

♥♥♥

In glow2021, tuesday truths Tags glow2021, glow, be present, mindfullness, calm, words
1 Comment

sweet sundays...

March 29, 2020 Arlene Giddings

I always love Sundays…
especially slow, quiet, sunny sundays.
Blue sky.
No wind.
Birds singing, snow melting..
sounds of spring.

It is a little hard to stay positive right now.
People are stressed out, people are scared.
It’s hard to avoid the news, the fear,
the negativity…
and every time I turn around there is a Facebook post
shaming people for this, judging people for that,
jumping to assumptions, snapping photos of people to shame online
without even knowing their story,
spreading anger, fear, outrage, panic, and hurtful, possibly harmful misinformation.

It’s hard to stay positive right now.

But I went for an hour long walk today
and yes, as I met people, we moved away from each other,
giving a wide berth to pass
but we also called out things like
”Beautiful day, eh?” and “Nice to see that sun!”

and then I came home and saw little purple flowers
growing in the front yard.

There was a bbq happening on the front deck
and the kids across the street played badminton
in the middle of the road. Our neighbors
washed their cars, people waved as they walked by
with their dogs and chickadees landed
right outside my window.

And I reminded myself that I have to stop letting
the manic-panic parts of the pandemic
get to me.
I can’t control how other people respond,
but I can control what I allow in,
what I allow myself to absorb
and I am choosing right now to find
stillness and sweetness in silence,
to sit in the sunny spot on the deck with a book…
to write in a journal, watch a good movie,
start seeds for my garden, check in with friends & family,
to not only find calm for myself but to try to be
a bright spot in someone else’s day if I can…
share a funny story,
talk about books i am loving,
post photos of pugs with snaggletooth smiles…

This is not at all what I meant to write here today.
But, honestly, I feel a little bit better now that I did.
I hope you do, too.
big virtual hugs, you. ♥
we got this.

In words, spring, pep talk Tags COVID, pandemic, just me talking, talking myself off the ledge, calm, spring fever
2 Comments

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