How Do You Stop the Worry?

I have a backlog of things to share with you. From New Zealand to my own backyard. Where just until a few minutes ago I was sitting, basking in the 85 degree spring sunshine and gentle breeze. Spring has almost turned to summer here, if only for a few days. It will get cooler again, it will rain. And when the warmth returns, most likely the humidity will come with it.  DC humidity is legendary. When I was in New Zealand, my some of my students commented on how humid it was. It was January, summer down there. “Humid?” I questioned, “you don’t know humid!” As with everything else, it’s all relative.

It’s important to remember that everything is relative. It helps to put things in perspective. Perspective: noun; the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship. All too often we get stuck in our own heads with worry or fear or what-have-you.

One trick that has served me well over the years is to take my problem and put it up against anything that’s been in the news. The news is all about problems, small but newsworthy ones, big ones, huge ones, catastrophic ones. I don’t need to list any here. Sadly, you can come up with at least 5 right now, can’t you?

How does my problem, my fear, compare to what those people are going through? Small potatoes. Tiny. Right away I feel gratitude for my life as it is. There’s no way I can obsess or wallow in my own self-pity or fear. Putting things into perspective  empowers me to move on. Because I can. I can change whatever is bothering me while so many others cannot. And if I cannot change a situation, I can always change my attitude towards it.

What’s your solution for getting yourself out of your head-talk?

Here are a few of the things that have been piling up on my blog to-do list:

I wanted to share this scarf with you. Isn’t it gorgeous? I feel like a proud mama because I taught Lorri Scott how to do the writing on the silk scarf in my Image + Text = Textile class at An Artful Journey back in February. A technique that has allowed her to move into a whole new direction with her hand-dyed silk textiles. It takes the term texting to a whole new level.

Speaking of texting, who is going to get the new Apple iPad? I am giving it serious consideration.  

Another thing of beauty I’d like to share is my dear New Zealand friend, Wendy Cooper. When I’m in AU or NZ, I can always visit Wendy. She is my home away rom home, SO far from home.

I’ll close with a photo I cannot resist sharing. Here are my triplet granddaughters. They’re not really triplets, they are  cousins, each one a year younger than the other, but they are all almost the same size. Last year they wore winter coats for the Easter egg hunt. This year we had a most beautiful day. Beautiful weather, beautiful girls.