Homework complete: Gratitude. That’s what I came up with after 24 hours of thinking about how I can respond to people who spontaneously upset me like the crazy lady at the Christmas Market I mentioned yesterday—Be grateful my ‘thinker’ and ‘reactor’ are not severely broken like hers.
Alcoholics have a tendency to obsess, overdo, rush, procrastinate, and schedule in advance for a day that never quite gets here. In sobriety, I was unsuccessful at slowing down, even though “easy does it” is a popular sobriety phrase. In stroke recovery, I’ve been forced to slow down. I no longer have the option of overloading my schedule with commitments to minimize my daily pain. The less I do, the better my head feels.
So today I took a page from my mom’s book, as they say, and I sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee and listened to a Audible book for an hour this morning. It was A M A Z I N G.
This evening as I write this, I’m having sleepytime tea. And before bed I’ll take some time to stretch and work out some of the kinks in my back. I’m trying to create space in my day to nothing—because doing nothing is doing something. It’s providing me with much needed down time. It’s hard when my brain is saying “write a book”, “make a candle”, “crochet a blanket”, “sew a quilt”, “record a podcast”. And my body is saying “r e s t, you had a stroke.”
I heard someone say this morning, “enjoy the horizon.” That’s really a beautiful way to put it. Sit undisturbed, and let the world unfold before you, like a canvas, where you are both a quiet observer and a part of its beauty.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.
Visit me at recoverydailypodcast.com or email me at rachel@recoverydailypodcast.com.
#EnjoyTheHorizon #GratitudeInSobriety #QuietObserver #StrokeRecoveryJourney #EasyDoesIt #MindfulMoments #RestIsProductive #SelfCareInSobriety #FindingBalance #HealingThroughSlowingDown
