2020 has been an insane year, insane is an understatement and i don’t need to get into the details however i want to take this time to count my blessings, reflect on the good and give thanks with a grateful heart.
I am grateful for LIFE, YOUTH, FAMILY and HEALTH. Being able to live life, the gift of health and youth is important to appreciate and embrace. Showing up for yourself can be a challenge, some days are better than others. There were days when I just didn’t want to get out of bed because of the routine. It’s okay not to be okay and failure is essential for your growth but don’t settle in the comfort of your failures. Celebrating tiny victories and embracing your whole being is commendable There are a lot of people that are living much harder lives. I am blessed to have a roof over my head and have food on the table. I am grateful for the opportunity to work from home and keep my job throughout this pandemic. Mental health is important & I’m grateful for quiet time, journaling, yoga and intermittent fasting. It has been such a blessing to have my husband by my side through all this. I thank my Dad and brother, Kuya Luke for listening to me and the blessing of family. Grateful for my Stover in laws for showering us with love The gift of family & technology that we are able to Facetime and see them even when we can’t be with them during this time. Thankful to live in a beautiful place called Snowmass, and call home.
After a 5 month hiatus, I am “back”. I have taken this time to really dig deep into working on myself, working on enjoying my marriage, working on being better as a person. I am learning to appreciate things that used to be “normal” that is no longer normal due to the COVID. I have missed blogging and writing and I think that this is a great series to restart my blog. 2020 is almost over and I wanted to reminisce and reflect on what was “GOOD” in 2020.
Journey with me as I continue to blog about what i am grateful for this year. If you want to join me in this #GratefulSeries2020 I would love to read some stories, tag me on your posts on social media @athaliahlee or #TheGratefulSeries2020 , what are you grateful for this year?
We live in such an awesomely weird time. Maintaining a positive mindset amidst the chaos in the world is a challenge, but not impossible. Here are a few things you can do to stay positive, and keep a healthy mind. This is a list of things that have worked for me as I cope with this pandemic. I am blessed enough to be able to work from home and be on the road to self discovery. For others it may be harder to cope with isolation especially for those who struggle with depression. You need to change your mindset and it’s always easier said than done. It’s okay to fall apart but we have to stand back up again and keep fighting everyday. We can easily get bogged down by all the depressing news and media. I usually limit my news/media down to twice a week to filter out the rest of negativity this may bring. Let’s not be judgmental nor stagnant. Check-in with your friends and family often. Journey with me as we help each other and create a safe community.
1.Keep a Journal/Private Blog If You Prefer To Type
Writing and being honest about how you feel is important, especially for ones health. No one judges you when you’re trying to write down your feelings on a notebook or you can even create a private blog if you would rather type it out. This has helped me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. When you’re writing your journal I recommend starting with a positive quote for the day or verse for the day whichever works for you. This way you set you mind to start the day right! Law of attraction, I believe this to be true, words are very powerful! When I start my day I usually think of 3 things I am grateful for. Finding joy in the simplest of things.
2. Meditation and Work out at Home/Exercise
We tend to make excuses to not exercise or work out (which I am guilty of) because the gyms are closed or because we simply are not allowed to go out. There are so many other ways for you to work out in your own home. I usually go through Instagram and save home workouts or search them on Google or find easy home workouts on Youtube. Colorado has a more relaxed stay at home order and considers “Recreational Activities” essential. Being able to go outside, go for a run and hiking are accepted as long as we are “social distancing”. Meditation is also a great way to cope with anxiety. Studies have shown that meditation has benefits toward depression. Here’s a good read/source “When Science Meets Mindfulness”. Yoga is another one I highly recommend. My husband and I enjoy this acticity. We started learning this a about 3 years ago and shout out to “Yoga with Adriene”. She is our favorite yoga teacher on Youtube and her cute puppers Benji! I highly recommend her Youtube videos if you’re interested to start learning yoga.
3. Learn Something New and Commit to it!
This has been by far my favorite quarantine activity. I have learned to bake some awesome breads, pastries, cakes, and more. I am excited to share them on this blog soon. When I moved to the States I had no choice but to learn how to cook and even now I still enjoy learning to cook new dishes every now and then. If you have a significant other, try to cook a new dish together, if you’re by yourself, keep at it and in time you’ll get better. My husband and I have also been trying to learn a new language, Spanish. It’s been a fun activity to do together! Learning something new doesn’t have to be brutal, I love watching Youtube videos and learning new things there!
Here’s a few of my favorites:
Learn how to bake! I’ll start sharing some recipes I enjoy making as well! Cinnamon Rolls are my favorite, I’ll be sharing my recipe on this website soon.
Relearning the Guitar and pushing myself to learn how to write “happy” songs surprisingly this is harder to do than to writing sad/emo songs.
Join a free Science Class with Mark Rober on Youtube. My husband enjoys watching science related topics on Youtube.
My husband and I enjoy watching Destin Sandlin with Smarter Everyday. Listening to Podcasts from Destin Sandlin & Matt Whitman with No Dumb Questions their podcasts are free if you have an iPhone on the Podcast app! They share and talk about some really interesting topics.
Restarting my eating pattern called Intermittent Fasting (will blog about this one soon)
4. Declutter Your Room/Home: Spring Cleaning
This one by far has been the hardest one because i hoard clothing. I brought old clothes from back home in the Philippines from when I was in high school! Surprisingly they still fit me however this is the time to “Marie Kondo” your stuff and only keep the ones that bring you joy. Let them go even donate them if possible! There may be some things in your storage that you’ve never sorted through and you kept telling yourself you’ll do that soon when you have the time, well, GREAT NEWS, THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO DO THIS., heck this might be the only time you’ll get the chance to do it before more the distractions of normal life returns.
5. Be The Change You Wish to See In The World
You may think that it is very hard to help anyone right now since everyone is isolated at home. We also make excuses that we can’t help others when we can’t even help ourselves, this can apply, financially too. These are hard times for a lot of people. However, there are a lot of ways to help the people around you. We have volunteer programs in our valley where you can help do groceries for elderly people. You can even help out by simply reaching out to friends who you think need more attention especially if they are having a re hard time coping with isolation. You can also spend more time with your family if you’re staying in the same home as them, get to know them better, ask questions you’ve never asked. If you’re not with your family, call them more often, life’s too short, they’re getting older. Acquiring to go food for local essential workers can help out both local business and the workers get through these times. Lastly, be kind to one another and share love not hate.
I do have a few more ideas but I would say these would be my top 5 things I love doing while i’m stuck at home. It definitely feels like a long journey but like they say, it’s all about the journey, not the destination. So, let’s embrace the journey and whatever you may experiencing, keep in mind that this too shall pass.
Jess The Joyful Soul 