Transformation to the better self.

Happy Valentine’s Day! May it be a day filled with kindness and self-appreciation.

DEPRESSION TIPS:

Shower. Not a bath, a shower.
Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you gotta.

Moisturize everything.
Use whatever lotion you like.
Unscented? Dollar store lotion? Fancy 48-hour lotion that makes you smell like a field of wildflowers? Use whatever you want, and use it all over your entire dermis.

Put on clean, comfortable clothes.
Put on your favorite underwear.
Those ridiculous boxers you bought last Christmas with candy cane hearts on the butt? Put them on.

Drink cold water.
Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.

Clean something.
Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.

Blast music.
Listen to something upbeat and dancey and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

Make food.
Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft-boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Make something.
Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, or anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.

Go outside.
Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

Call someone.
Call a loved one, a friend, or a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text, email, or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.

Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them.
Take pictures of them. Talk to them. Tell them how you feel, about your favorite movie, a new game coming out, anything.

May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive.

*** At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on.

*** In case nobody has told you today I love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!!

Find something to be grateful for!

My sticky note to myself is do the next thing, whatever it is wake up/get up sometimes that’s enough.

May I please get 2 friends or family members to copy and re-post? You never know who on your list needs to hear this.





Just two. Any two.

Say DONE.

Many of us wrestle with our response to the sufferings of the world. With the torrent of news, it is easy to despair, or to become numb. The Buddhist approach to this collective suffering is to turn toward it. We understand that genuine happiness and meaning will come through tending to suffering. We overcome our own despair by helping others to overcome theirs.
We might hear this and become afraid of being overwhelmed. But each of us can contribute to the sanity of the world. In doing so we discover the role of the bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is the Sanskrit word for a being who is devoted to acting for the benefit of all that lives. The bodhisattva’s path is a striking contrast with the excessive individualism of our culture. When the world is seen with the eyes of a bodhisattva, there is no I and other—there is just us. “We are not separate, we are interdependent,” declared the Buddha. Nothing is separate. Unless we understand this, we are split between caring for ourselves or caring for the troubles of the world. We human beings can live with more compassion, with more care for one another. We are limited only by our imagination.

This war is getting more and more devastating . People are dying on both sides. Ukrainian people are losing everything. I can’t imagine the devastation people in Ukraine are feeling. With all the technology and progress- how can we let this happen in the first place ? The amount of hateful messages in my posts and DMs is getting out of hands. I understand the hatred and grief and desperation. How do we stop the monster? How do you stop the nightmare that is real? How do we heal the trauma?

Trip to Santiago

STOP THE WAR!!!

I haven’t used filters on my pictures@for almost a year. At some point I was so addicted to that perfect skin and face shape the filters provided that I could not stand to see the real me. I am almost 41 so I can no longer hold on to that version of me that would turn the heads in the room. I do not need it anymore. I am loved and I feel it with all my imperfect face, hair and body .

No mask at the auto shop meaning I can keep my lipstick on for a second . Little pleasures on my day off minus car service . Shine on…. 🐼

What is the healthier version ?