Momservation: It is time to have the courage to live your best life.
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I stopped watching the news 2 weeks ago. I felt my soul growing lighter each day of rejecting my normal need to stay informed.
I started my day with the comics, refusing to read beyond “If it bleeds it leads” headlines. I only read the stories that told of heroics and good deeds.
I scrolled past anything on my “news feeds” that didn’t make me smile or laugh.
I’m telling you it’s a game changer.
The cloud of doom and gloom has lifted. Malignant anxieties and fears shriveled when there wasn’t always something nefarious in the news feeding it. Things that were worth worrying about seemed much more manageable when hope, happiness, and optimism sprouted again.
Johnny Nash’s classic “I Can See Clearly Now” has become my jam:
I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny day.
My new outlook has been perfect timing for the New Year. I’ll admit, I was scared for 2019. It’s going to be a year of big changes over here: Last kid graduating high school in late spring, both kids grown and flown by late summer making Hubby and I Empty Nesters. Anyone who read my popular blog “Going Full Golden – Part I & II” from August 2018 will know why this next chapter of life has been giving me anxiety instead of thoughts of possibilities.
I’ve been paralyzed in fear of what’s happening in my country, what’s going to happen in my life, what do I do with myself when I’m not actively mothering, what does just the two of us look like?
Fear and anxiety for the future ruling my life.
Amazing how just turning off the damn TV was able to center my world again. I focused on enjoying the joys of Christmas with my family and friends; the blessings of good health and happiness for those I love; the simple pleasures of a good book, a warm blanket, a home-cooked meal. And of course, my children being around me, in this moment, taking in the love and the laughter instead of worrying about it going silent in the Fall of 2019.
Funny how hope and optimism sneak up on you when you figure out a way to live in each moment—good or challenging—as if you had chosen it.
I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for
It’s gonna be a bright, bright sun-shiny day.
Then when your head and your heart are clear, the journey ahead doesn’t seem so daunting. The thoughts of possibility, and even excitement for it, creep back in.
“Now that the kids will be gone, I can jump back into writing full time!”
“Or maybe I’ll teach more Memoir Writing classes at senior living facilities around town!”
“Maybe it’s time to dust off those manuscripts and get them edited and published!”
“But wait! I have 14 years of columns and blogs—maybe it’s time to create a greatest hits book for people still mothering (From Diapers to Diplomas?) while writing about Grown and Flown for those of us transitioning to mothering adult children?”
Suddenly, I can’t wait to get started for all that 2019 has to offer. And I’m excited to see what it has in store for my children so eager and happy to spread their wings. And also Hubby who’s ready to take some risks with his company.
It is time to have the courage to live our best lives.
Let’s do this 2019. I can see clearly now. The rain is gone. It’s going to be a bright, bright sun-shiny year.
#AudacityOfHope #OptimismRocks #YearOfNoFear