Hello 2022. The new year that finds us blinking in the sunlight of open borders ... while still treading the tightrope of uncertainty.
City friends are going down like flies, with the safety shield of lockdowns removed.
"It feels like the worst hangover" says my infected 26 year old nephew in Sydney (#doublevaxed).
Fingers and toes crossed that the healthcare system holds. After all, that's what the vaccination rollout is for!!
| |
So, this year, 2022 (!!) I'm making wishes, not resolutions.
Resolutions are demanding too much certainty, onward planning. Which feels out of reach in these days. (I’m still treading water, awaiting the right signals to start up a yoga class in my Maclean locality. By mid-year, surely!)
How about you? Are you finding it hard to lay plans in the shifting sands of 'what's happening next' in the covid era?
| |
I'm sure you'll enjoy this smart and genuine discussion about covid-era challenges as psychologist Dr. Rumani Duvasula chats with Jay Shetty (author of "Think Like a Monk") about mindfulness skills assisting with pain, loss and uncertainty.
Personal issues, social issues: loss of income, healthcare needs on hold, weddings postponed, funerals missed, travel plans thwarted, relationships in tatters. One way or another we're coping with uncertainty (and loss, grief, guilt, the whole shebang) on a global scale.
| |
>>> You know what they’re saying about 2021. It went viral faster than anyone thought it would.
| |
The Thirty Six Views of Mt. Fuji as painted by Katsushika Hokusai, along with a reading of Hokusai Says by Roger Keyes.
| |
My New Year's gift to you ... one of my favourite youtube clips, guaranteed to transport you to a vibrant sanctuary within. It's an inspiring reflection delivered via image/music/finely spoken word on the life and works of Japanese woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849). The poem, was created by avid Hokusai fan and art historian Roger Keyes.
| |
| |
Hokusai's most famous print, "The Wave".
| |
| |
|
>>> Back in my day, you would cough to cover up a fart. Now, with COVID-19, you fart to cover up a cough.
| |
Remember the tip from the Spring newsletter? "See what’s in front of you". Here’s a pointer for actually doing that. Use the mantra “Hand and Eye”. As your hand moves to an object (turning on a tap, putting on your shoes) deliberately take your eyes to that place. See, fully see, what you are doing. See if doing that brings you more alive. Why does it help?
| |
"You become mindful when you notice that you're distracted. The moment you notice that you're not paying attention, you wake up—instantly! Noticing is enough, every time." - Cara Bradley, Oprah.com | |
>>> There are so many coronavirus jokes out there, it’s a pundemic.
| |
|
|
Fancy something spiritually nourishing? Buddhist nun Samaneri Jayasara from the forest tradition speaks beautifully-paced readings from a wide variety of traditions. This is a You Tube experience not to miss!! | |
|
|
|
|
For a 1988-style belly laugh, you can't go past Dirty Rotten Scoundrels . We discovered it recently. Even the fussy 20-somethings loved it. One funny scene after another. Stick thru to the end coz the last laugh is on the female lead (I don’t want to give too much away in case you haven’t seen it). | |
On Chesil Beach (2017 British drama) is as different you get to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Slow, thoughtful, set in England, 1962 . A newlywed couple spend their honeymoon in dread, terrified by the prospect of actually getting into the cot together.
| |
| |
|
|
|
(For newsletter readers only- that's you!)
Shhh, don’t tell anyone (promise?) … I wear a single-tooth denture (gasp) and it went missing. Wasn't in its spot by the bedside on waking.
Looked everywhere, shook out everything.
It's a critter taken it, I tell Nish. Don't be ridiculous he says. You've absent mindedly left it somewhere.
Meanwhile, panicked phone calls to dentists and denture specialists for replacement. Takes hours. You know what it’s like.
Crafty Nish decides to test the critter explanation … just in case.
"Where would I put that tooth if I were a mouse?" he wonders. He looks in corners and under furniture, his whiskers twitching.
Eventually he investigates the broom closet ... picks up a cloth on the floor. Lo and behold, in full shameless glory … there it is, found!!
(Oh yes I sterilised it very, very thoroughly!)
| |
Thanks for opening and reading, folks, I greatly appreciate it. Feel free to forward to a friend (with an invite to join us.) I wish you the very best for 2022. I wish that with certainty.
Happy New Year.
| |
ps, the Self-Kindness Bootcamp I talked about last issue had to go on hold, unfortunately. I can't wait to get back to it and have it ready for you to use and enjoy. Testers, please feel free to keep using your current version. xx
| |
YOGA online. Series of six classes here
Rest is Best and ZipZap Brain Snap here
Next issue 1st March 2022. Find previous issues here.
| |
|
|
| |
|
