I very much appreciate my own space. I need space. I appreciate a wide-open environment, and prefer it over big, crowded cities. I’m so glad to have moved out of the city lot where I grew up, and into a rural community. My mind works better and thinks more clearly in big open areas. I’m more relaxed. As much as I enjoy hiking and spending time in the mountains, I become claustrophobic when the forest is too dense.
This past winter, my in-laws stayed with us while my mother-in-law recovered from a broken leg. Add to that my son being home from college for a month, and his fiancé for a week of that time. Then my daughter and her husband spent the night on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. There were people sleeping on couches, and in every room of the house. We had zero space. I was stressed.
I also really appreciate my alone time in the morning. I’m a little rough to wake up; in college they called me “The Bear”. As in, “Don’t wake The Bear”. While I have improved in that area, I’m still grumpy first thing in the morning. I prefer being the first person awake, because I can go through my routine without anyone around. I need 20-30 minutes to get up to speed. Once I’m up and have been moving around for a while, I slowly become the version of myself everyone knows and is accustomed to. I require that time to myself, in the same way many others depend on their morning coffee to start their day off strong.
Why talk about this?
I believe in accepting what is, as I look to the future and make improvements in the now. In other words, if you ask me a pointed question at 5 or 6 AM, don’t be surprised if I bite your head off. That’s the truth of what is. It’s also something I’ve considered the future of and know it’s an area I want to continue to improve upon. I’ve worked on this exhaustively over the years and have finally progressed to the point where I can now take a deep breath, roll my eyes, and communicate “not now” or “not yet” before walking out of the room. It’s an improvement on the past with more improvement needed for the future in the now.
We all have something like this. You know what yours is. Have you spoken with your family or friends about it? Speak about that you do it. And set goals for an improvement this year. For me, it’s going from rolling my eyes to putting on a smile and nodding my head. For you, it may be accepting that your live body can heal. The next level would be that it does heal. The next level would be acknowledging in the moment that it is healing. When we start small, it’s easier to grow and recognize that we are doing the thing we set out to do and improve upon. The only limitations are the one we place on ourselves. Therefore, remove the limitation. Say, “I can…”. Or, “I will….”. Or, “I must…”. Or, “I am capable of…”.
You’ll feel better about yourself and what you are able to accomplish.
Leave a Reply