Something nice I did for myself recently?!?
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…
If you were out shopping and the person in front of you was short less than a dollar, would you give them the change? Before you answer, let me tell you a story. I was at my local produce stand checking out the bargain section, when I noticed a few young adults (past clients). They engaged me in conversation. I hadn’t seen them in over three years. I applauded them for taking the wellness course I started in the group home to heart. Fast forward several minutes to when the beautiful blessed ethical issue arose. Standing next to me, one of the young adults was getting rung up. The cashier informed him his card was short 86 cents. My first thought was to hand him a dollar. After all, I hadn’t seen him in years (social work is full of grey areas). Instead, I looked at his items and made a few suggestions of things that he could put back. I also suggested he use his backpack to carry his groceries, as our city charges a quarter for each bag. He looked at me and said “Always teaching lessons…” What would you have done? Think it over as you enjoy this soup.
1 C. of lentils
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots peeled
3 scallions
2 cloves garlic
1 lid full Herb’n Farm Herb and Jerk
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices
6 C. chicken broth
4 C. kale
Half of bunch of basil
1 Cajun bell pepper
1 bell pepper
1 spring of thyme
2 smoked sausages
1 bay leaf
Method: In a food processor; pulse scallion, garlic, carrots, celery, Cajun bell pepper, and bell pepper. Add to Dutch oven with oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients are fragrant and translucent (about five minutes). Add the diced tomatoes (with their juices), chicken broth, lentils, Herb’n Farm Herb, thyme spring, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover partially, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are tender, 45-50 minutes. Fish out bay leaf and thyme and discard. Add kale and basil and let wilt for two to three minutes.
I had always considered myself an empathetic person, but it has become harder for me to walk away from situations in which I think I could help. It’s great to let your passion drive you, but you need to find balance. I try to always remember: There’s a difference between listening to someone and really hearing
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something
This past summer, my professional life took way off in a beautiful blessed direction. Real life confession- that is why you have received way more reflections and comics. Thank you for your likes, comments, and re-blogs. Thank you for knowing sometime the best life messages are short or come through humor. Though, as usual, I digress. Back to the title of this post “Thoughtful Ways to Stress Less”. I came across Lisa Quast’s tips, and although these past months have not been stressful per se, I still wanted to go over this list and see where I could improve (or better yet, to see where I was exceling).
• Carve out email time -I have nailed this at work- the first thirty minutes and last thirty minutes of my day is spent on email. The issue is the personal emails that suck my time. I have a friend that keeps her email on autoreply and it reads “Thank you so much for contacting me. Please note that I check emails once per day Monday – Friday. Due to the volume of emails that I receive daily, I may take up to 48 hours to respond to your email, longer if you contact me during the weekends. I will do my best to respond to your email as soon as I am able. Thank you so much for your patience and graciousness.” Oh, how I need to get to that point.
• Switch from multitasking to single-tasking- I am excelling at this if I am prepping a lecture or reviewing a client case before a session. Now on the social media front, not so much. Yes, I can line up reflections and comics, but I am not the best at finding titles (I swear AJ is the queen of this) or Instagram captions for photos (you may have noticed some of my bloopers over time).
• Prep your attire – I am never going to be the woman who lays her wardrobe out at night. I dress by the way I am feeling when I wake up. Luckily, my closet is well organized.
• Plan your meals – I respect people who meal prep. I am just not that individual. My biggest de-stressor is co-cooking with my spouse after a long day. I am more of a snack prepper, as I am not a fan of wasting money on convenience food.
This list is interesting to me, I am surprised Quest didn’t put exercise on the list. I personally find my runs to be one of my biggest stress busters. I also believe in saying no to opportunities, if it’s that good you will feel it in your being. What do you do to destress?
