If the summer heat and disruptions have gotten to you like they have to me, take a look at the video above about a simple technique you can use to calm your frazzled nerves.
Here’s my summer so far. 53-hours in 100+ degree daytime temps and 93 at night without electricity. No fridge for 10 days before that due to a broken condenser.
And for 4 weeks during this time, we had our Pandora’s Box experience, in which our lower level became a demolition site.
Workmen jackhammered up 18 linear feet of tile and concrete to rid us of a 2+ year sewer fly infestation. 2+ years is a long time and clearly our strategies were not working. Now we know why. I won’t tell you the gory details except that the sewer flies were cohabiting under our house in rusted-out, broken pipes with other sewage loving creatures.
The workmen promised they’d protect it all with plastic.
But the project was “the worst-case they’d ever seen,” and their taping job was not adequate even for the best-case.
I was haunted by the image of sticky dirty dust covering every surface in my office – the walls, furniture, my papers, books, printer and desk. Even when I knew the sewer flies and broken pipes were history, I had this inner torture chamber going on.
You’d think that with all my mindfulness training and knowledge, I’d find a way to transform the image. This mostly worked – coming up with 6 reasons why it was a good thing everything got covered. This is what I got:
1. I renewed my acquaintance with my many, many books while wiping them down.
2.My office got thoroughly cleaned, twice.
3.I threw away [some] stuff – not easy for me even under these circumstances.
4.I learned I could be more tolerant of chaos than I previously thought.
5.I had to work hard really building new images thus new neural pathways.
6.These new pathways will benefit me, my family, my clients and perhaps the evolution of consciousness.
That last one felt pretty good.
How’s your summer going so far? I’d love to hear from you.