My Top 5 Tips for 2020
…Things I Wish I had known this time last year . . .
So, we are approaching that time of year where in traditional times, the weekend broadsheet magazines and some mailing lists might compile and communicate to us their snippets and soundbites for 2020. The “Year of the Virus and Lockdown”. There is a good chance that anyone who, by some (existentialist and scientifically) impossible mistake, being in receipt of this year’s list last December, might have accused said media outlets of being “Qanon” level nuts, but here we are. Indeed, here we are.
What are the 5 things that might have given me comfort, had I been the recipient of fore warning of some of the upheavals of 2020?
1. Consumerism is on its downers – despite much hullabaloo in the finance pages of how internet sales are going through the roof (which they are) and the high street is on its inexorable downward descent (which it certainly appears to be), my sense is the rise in the one has not risen to fill or supersede the gap in the other. Or put more simply, I don’t believe we are consuming quite as much post lockdown(s) as pre. There is a beautiful line in Glennon Doyle’s “UnTamed” when, at the beginning of her “Transition” chapters she quotes a chap called Westley from a 70’s film (I haven’t seen) entitled “Princess Bride” – “Princess there is pain and everyone else who tells you differently is trying to sell you something”. In other words, we are going feel a bit pants for quite large swathes of our lives because we are sentient conscious human beings in an ever-evolving and challenging world. That extra pair of earrings, tech gadget, self-help book and/or on-line yoga course, never mind the fasting regime, will not change that. Having said that though…
2. Embracing the inner hippy. – so much time spent within one’s home’s 4 walls and at some point the untouched bottles and papers in those drawers/ boxes/ bags will beckon and so long as, (for me) the revisitation of them can become a journey, not a chore, it can be interesting. I have found funky bespoke pictures/ articles to frame as presents, essential oils with healing properties to blend for my sanity, photographs (half ruined and sticky) that prompt a memory or two, before being consigned. So actually this is not point about the joys of decluttering (long may that be joyous for some) but a nod at the “journey”. Yes, I have breathed mindfully for the first time, I now journal regularly solo in the morning and I embrace those binaural beats. Slowing things down can mean speeding up the journey to that place of peace and calm. After all, isn’t it happiness we crave, not more things?
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3. Communication is the antidote to Addiction just not on Zoom! We have all had our “Incomings” and “transmissions” face to face with other humans much reduced. This has been challenging, painful, soul-destroying for some and yet life-reaffirming and transformative for others. We all realise we need other people but that we also need is to mindfully exercise some control around how we interact and who with, where, for how long. That works’ Zoom quiz you attended reluctantly(for FOMO (as if!)) is not necessarily going to leave you with that “connected glow” … or perhaps it might? Those twitter trolls are not necessarily worth giving reading time to, but then hiding in echo chambers is also at the risk of the deterioration of your own critical faculties. The dilemma. A possible solution: just to be more aware of how our interactions work in different ways with different people and how they then impact us. Exercising some self-awareness. Being mindful of how something makes us feel or how it influences our internal narrative. Also, appreciating we are quite often crippled with social insecurities and therefore taking the belief leap to appreciating that not every thought you have is a “true one”/ fact and therefore you can work on tuning out the “judgemental” thoughts and work towards a better suited, more entertaining internal narrative..
4. Jigsaw puzzles are the boss. Go at least 500 pieces high and to my mind I would avoid anything with brushstrokes, the alps or too much sky, sea, green or roof. Otherwise embrace your own style, cede yourself to the nagging thoughts of how many hours of my life is this going to suck up, and why am I doing this. Go with the flow, the binaural beats, your cup of tea and feel the pieces join to the bigger picture. It declutters the mind, trust me.
5. Practice Gratitude and make a small gift every day.
I must remember to take my own advice.
Have a good end of year everyone, and wishing you all a great New 2021!
Karen
