@bethvogt “There’s always hope,” my daughter Amy said. “I’ll hope in a minute,” I told her. I was sitting down, leaning over, grappling with some unexpected news. Unwanted news. The kind that takes your breath away, even as your eyes sting with tears. You know what I mean, right? For just a minute, you lose your grip on hope … …
What Helps Us Clean Out Our Mental Junk Drawers?
My friend Mary and I went for an early morning walk the other day. During our weekly walks, we take turns talking about life in an honest, here’s-what’s-going-on-with-me kind of way. Mary invited me to go first, so after discussing my latest ups and downs, I yielded the, um, sidewalk to Mary. As we neared the end of our …
What to Do When You’re Heavy-Hearted
@bethvogt I’ve heard the term “heavy-hearted” quite a bit recently. People are heavy-hearted about their life circumstances – from family struggles to friends’ setbacks. People are heavy-hearted about life “out there” – events playing out across the world via nonstop news headlines every single hour of the day. How do we counterbalance the ongoing challenges that weigh our hearts down? …
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
@bethvogt I mulled over this blog post for quite a while. Started one topic. Erased it. I wanted to think of something funny. Something light. Put a spin on things so my words were encouraging from the get-go. But it was a bit of a fractured start to the week, one where I fought to find a good rhythm …
Choosing Not To Let Stress Run Our Lives
@bethvogt I’ve been in an ongoing tug-of-war with stress … and right now stress is winning. I stared at that sentence and considered deleting it, one letter at a time. Choosing another topic for today’s blog. But I’ll go with the reality that, despite my best efforts to “Go placidly amid the noise and haste” … well, I’m not. I’m …
Choosing not to Fix Our Struggles with Nice Thoughts
@bethvogt When I was a child and had trouble falling asleep because I’d had a bad dream, my mom would sit beside my bed and comfort me by telling me to think nice thoughts. I’d remember swimming in the lake in Vermont during a family vacation. Or winning the class spelling bee. Or playing outside in the rain with the …
Choosing to Believe I’m not an Imposter
@bethvogt This was my friend Jenny’s text to me yesterday morning at 6:12 a.m.: In life, and perhaps you overcame this, who did you believe you had to be accepted and/or approved by? By the way, good morning. My reply: Oh my word! Do you want an alphabetical list? Jenny and I have conversations like this. All the time. Sometimes …
Recognizing We’re Afraid … and Choosing to Do What Needs to be Done Anyway
@bethvogt I had a dental appointment yesterday. I dreaded it so much I’d put it off for five months. But yesterday, I “adulted” and went to the dentist. A lot of people are afraid of the dentist – maybe you’re one of them. If you are, I empathize with you. You’re welcome to share your story in the comments. I …
Choosing to Reset Our Thoughts When We’re Anxious
@bethvogt I’m keeping today’s post straightforward. As I write these words, tallies are coming in for the 2020 U.S. presidential election. I have no idea what news tomorrow will bring — about the election or anything else I’m concerned about, for that matter. And I do have other things I’m worried about. I know a lot of people are anxious …
Choosing to Make Less Stress a Priority
@bethvogt I snapped a photo of a Good Housekeeping magazine article’s title – “15 No-Fail Stress Busters to Deal with This Year’s Chaos” – and texted it to my 3 daughters and one daughter-in-love. “I think I need every one on this list.” Ha Ha. They each responded with laughing emojis, but I’m certain they all felt the same way …