Days 5-7: it's the freakin' weekend
By the time day 6 rolled around, I was feeling ready for some (what I felt was much deserved) downtime. In the wise words of one of our generation's most eloquent poets, R. Kelly, "it's the freakin' weekend baby i'm about to have me some fun."
Well, turns out when you don't have a job, you don't really have a weekend either. Or so my boyfriend says. (I, on the other hand, was ready to N&N - Netflix and Nap - for 48 hours straight.)
We reached the perfect compromise: a balanced, productive, and still fun weekend consisting of some of our favorite things in the world. Things that set my soul on fire big time.
On Saturday morning, we volunteered with Meals on Wheels. Now let me tell you a little bit about MOW: it's awesome. Anyone looking for a low-key, high-impact service opportunity should check it out. It's easy to do but makes a huge difference in the lives of the elderly living in our community.
I have friends who've said, "I don't know how you do that. Old people make me so uncomfortable and make me face me the impending doom of my own mortality." I get that, I really do. As someone who once volunteered in hospice, I know there's nothing quite like being faced with death while all you're tryna do is YOLO it up. But MOW is the perfect way to help out these elderly folks that so badly need it, without jumping straight into the intensity of spending your weekend at the retirement home playing BINGO and serving jello.
You simply pick up the meals, load 'em in your car, and drive to the 6 or so addresses on the route you've been assigned. When you get to the recipient's home, you call to tell them you've arrived, walk the box to the front door, hand it off, and leave.
That's right. No spoon feeding. No diaper changing. No sponge bathing. You're just a friendly neighbor delivering food with a kind smile.
This morning (day 7), I tried starting the day off in a different way. After gorging myself on buttered popcorn, peanuts, lemonade, and queso at the Braves game last night (hey, "focusing on holistic health" doesn't rule out enjoying some classic ballpark food, ok?), I needed to kick off Sunday with a little more mindfulness.
Enter Calm, an app for "Meditation made simple. Reduce anxiety, sleep better and feel happier." I chose a session about happiness, and today's episode (do you call it that?) was about gratitude.
I've dabbled in meditation before but it's always been in a class or group setting where it'd be too embarrassing to scratch your butt or pick your nose or slouch your back, so you sit still as a statue to appear as impressive as possible to the fellow meditators even when your butt is itching or your nose needs picking or your back is hurting like hell.
But in the safety of your own home, with the app to guide you and no one to judge you, there's less pressure and more freedom to enjoy the meditation. And enjoy it, I did.
The guru (again, not sure if I'm using the correct terms here...) suggested gratitude journaling as a way to focus on all the things we have to be thankful for (food, shelter, friends and family, strong bodies, healthy minds) and distance our minds from concentrating on what we lack (a new car, a tropical vacation, a job).
Hmm... maybe I'll give it a try.
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