Have you lost the joy in your life? When was the last time you laughed, truly hard? Has the pandemic and resulting quarantines, social distancing, not going out to eat all winter, etc., gotten to you? Well, you’re not alone. It’s been sooooooo long since we’ve been able to do many of the activities that brought us joy – hugging our children and other family members, meeting friends for a game of trivia at a local restaurant, taking Yoga classes with friends at a community center, the list goes on.
I’ve been doing my best to help others meditate, laugh, take zoom classes, and share good news events in these posts. I didn’t realize how much I was being affected by the amount of time that has passed while I’ve been distancing, until my daughter came home for a visit. It’s been so lovely the last couple of weeks to hug her, and be hugged back, a lot. Ahhhhh, it feels like a part of me that was missing has returned!
What about you? Have you noticed that you don’t laugh as much as you used to? Or maybe you feel exhausted all the time and don’t know why? It could be the constant stress of doing so many things differently, for such a long time.
It’s time to pay attention to how we are all feeling now and find some ways to bring the old joy back into our lives. Now that restrictions in most areas are easing, find out what you can do, that you used to love to do, and do it!
In Massachusetts, the nice weather will be upon us soon, and I have seen people scheduling Yoga classes outdoors, and putting tents up in the driveway or the back yard of restaurants so that people can eat out again. Just today, I got a notice from one of our theaters, here in the Berkshires, that they have a big tent in the parking lot, and plan to have a summer season with live music events, as well as a couple of shows – The Importance of Being Earnest being the first one! Cool! I’ve missed live music!
Tanglewood, an enormously popular music venue here, will have a summer season this year. A shorter season, and there will not be 20,000 people on blankets on the lawn listening to James Taylor, but even as many as they can allow will be great for those of us who have missed live concerts.
Bit by bit, some of these “joyful” activities will be coming back. And I think they’ll be appreciated much more than they were before COVID. Many things that we all took for granted before the pandemic will be more important to us now as we get back to doing and seeing again.
Something as simple as sitting outside around a fire pit, catching up with friends is going to feel great!
And, for today’s video, I have included a short energy practice that can help you reduce those stress hormones wreaking havoc in your body right now!
