Friday, 29 May 2020

Day 7 - 150 -- Expectations and Comparisons

More heat but with wind filled the day outside my windows. It was far to hot to go for a walk today. The house remained overly warm, too. We're told that this will break with a cold front with rain that will arrive tomorrow evening. While the temperature will be slightly cooler than today, the humidity will compensate and make it feel way to hot again in the afternoon tomorrow. I should take a cue from the furry one, who lays very still to cool himself, while I expend energy talking and typing about it all. <smile>

Today was a less productive day than I'd hoped. I'm going to try to take some time away from research projects over the weekend and then do some reading and thinking about it all next week. I'm not sure why I feel I should be doing more than I am, but from what I've been reading, I"m not alone. There seems to be an expectation put on ourselves that we are at home and should be able to do so much more that is happening. Social Workers and psychology professionals tell us that doing less is not wrong. How we deal with the major changes in daily life and expected changes for the future will differ from person to person. Some will learn new skills, declutter the entire house, read all books on their list, sew hundreds of masks, cook new recipes, support others; while other people may do some of these items to  lesser degrees while taking time to be still and take stock of life. There is no requirement to do all the extra stuff. Working from home and home schooling will be more than enough for most people. Social comparison drives the feeling of not measuring up to expectations, even though most of the expectation comes from within ourselves not externally. Just getting through the adaptation and flexibility needed to do something that we took for granted like getting groceries or having the winter tires removed becomes a whole production. All of that takes a lot of energy to work through and experience. No wonder we are tired and yet sleep restlessly at times. I keep coming back to advice I was given and have given -- be kind to one another but also be kind to yourself. That is a tall order some days.

A song from a few years back presents ways that we can be hard on ourselves and others.it just seemed to fit the ponderings today. Stay safe. Enjoy!

Them Girls Be Like -- Fifth Harmony


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