Day 81: Perfectionsim + Tools

Today I learned...
...that it takes a lot longer to cure perfectionism than I originally thought. :-)

Today I am thankful...
...for all the tools I am learning to help combat my driving anxiety. Thank you, Dr. Salas!

Day 38: Listening + Driving Anxiety

Today I learned...
...that sometimes people just need to be heard. I made a home hospice visit today, armed with resources and suggestions and options for a patient's caregiver daughter. She didn't want any of them...yet my visit was very successful. I listened. I validated. I encouraged. I supported. And though I left feeling like I had not "given" anything... in retrospect I think I gave the woman just what she needed.

Today I am thankful for...
...a noticeable decrease in my driving anxiety. I've really been using gratitude to combat it (sounds strange, but it's private and it works!) and it was tested today. Scale of 1-10, it was mere 1. Yay!

Day 18: Weddings + An Early Night

Today I learned...
...that if I ever did my wedding over again, I'd keep it simple and do things in a completely different way. That's not to say my wedding wasn't fantastic (and my wedding day was a beautiful time), but the more I hear about people's weddings, the more I realize that it's hard to know what you'd want sometimes until AFTER you do it. Which is unfortunate, considering you don't do weddings over typically. :-) I have no regrets, but I surprise myself these days by imagining that if I got married to Rick NOW, I'd wear a simpler dress, not get married in a church, and have less people involved in the craziness. In fact, if I got married NOW, there would be no craziness. It's not about the wedding, it's about the marriage. I thought I knew that then, but I know it even better now.

Today I am thankful for...
...an early night with Rick. No to-do list, no attention to grad school work or eating disorder activist commitments, no housework. Just me, Rick, and the cats...in bed by 9 pm.

Day 16: Perceptions + Being Chauffeured

{http://shirae.etsy.com © 2007-2012 Shira Sela} 

 Today I learned...

...that this new project/blog of mine seems like a lot of work to most people. But...happiness is an inside job. This new blog is just an outward display of what's already going on in my own heart.

Today I am thankful for...

...Rick driving us to work in the snow/ice, even though it wasn't all that bad. So glad I didn't have to do it! And that we were able to take one car, rather than driving separately.

Day 10: Dying + Sleep

 

Today I learned...

...that when a person is dying, his or her background does not matter very much. All that matters is that when he is in pain, empathy takes hold. A patient came into hospice today - he had a past laced with negative information and poor choices. I saw a nurse judge him. He wasn't a criminal or an evil person, but he had had a hard life and some consequences ensued. Before he arrived, she mentioned not wanting to touch him, because she found him too gross. As a social worker, I was taken aback by this comment. Hours after he arrived, she came from his bedside and I asked her how he was. She had sadness in her eyes and said she felt sorry for him, because he was in so much pain. After meeting him - and watching his painful state - she had tirelessly ensured his comfort was the number one priority so he could die in peace, and no longer held the notion he was gross. The change in her mindset happened in a matter of hours and I witnessed it.

Today I am thankful for...

...the opportunity to go to sleep early. Many of my days are so long, filled with work and commitments. I have progressively gotten more and more tired as this week wore on, and last night I believe I had less than 5 hours of sleep. So tonight, after a long and tiring day during which I was already running on empty, I am happy that I do not have a 3 hour class. I am happy I do not have to lead a group. I am happy that I do not have to make a video. I am happy that I do not have to write a paper. I am happy that I can go to sleep earlier than usual!

Day 9: Assumptions + Warm Welcomes

Today I learned...
...that preconceived notions often do nothing but add stress that doesn't have to be present. I had heard so many bad things about an instructor for a grad course. 16 weeks from graduation I am so eager not to have anything mess up my mojo. I was worried, nervous, fearing the worst. I went to class - and yes, the course itself is quite overwhelming, but the instructor is fine. Likeable, even. I wasted a few hours of my day stressing needlessly.

Today I am thankful for...
...a short phone call with a friend in NYC. Her voice on the other end was so inviting. She sounded SO happy to hear from me - what a welcome! I could get used to that! "Hi, you!" she said excitedly. "It's you!" I smile just thinking about it.