Finding Joy in Everyday Moments

Sunset over Lake Ontario - Selkirk Shores State Park, NY

As I mentioned in my recent vacation post, I struggle with trying to lessen the stress of my everyday life. With a family to take care of, plus my inborn drive, I tend to be busy every moment - often doing two or more things at once! - and forget to take time for myself. Of course, with ME/CFS, that often results in making me sicker.

Both of our sons are spending the holiday weekend at the beach with friends, so my husband and I are enjoying a very quiet, low-key couple of days. I woke with a killer headache yesterday and a moderate crash from the day before (long story but my college son ended up in the ER the night before and I spent Friday driving him all around town to pick him up from campus, take him to a doctor, the drugstore, etc. Don't worry - he's fine)...anyway, despite the list of things I wanted to get done yesterday, I gave in and listened to my body for once and rested on the couch with my laptop.

After I did a few productive things online (hey, I said I'm working on it!), I thought about how my husband likes to just play around with his tablet after dinner in his recliner - he'll just surf the net, look for interesting stuff, watch videos, etc. I never just relax like that without a purpose! He's been telling me about the TED talks and how interesting some of them are, so I went to YouTube and looked through the list of TED talks. I came across one that sounded intriguing (and wasn't too long - baby steps!) and ended up really enjoying it. It's called, "Cloudy with a Chance of Joy," and it's just about looking at the clouds. The speaker is warm and thoughtful and funny, and I not only enjoyed the talk but it also contributed to this same line of thinking and gave me some more ideas for ways to slow down and make space for more calm and peace in my life.

Hope you enjoy it:



And here are some of my own favorite cloud photos (as well as the one up on top) - I plan to take time to look up more:

Lines in the sky

Sky full of ridges

Snow sky

Try it! Go out in your yard or on your deck, leave the electronics inside (except maybe for your camera), lie back, and stare at the clouds.

P.S. I would love to hear from you about any talks or videos you recommend - anything interesting, amusing, enlightening. I really do want to try to make more time for myself. Please leave links or descriptions in the comments section!