Take time for yourself this weekend.
It’s a noisy world. Life is hectic, loud, and often intrusive.
There has been a ton of political news in the past week. Good things, like passage of a bill to take care of US veterans whose health was injured by being exposed to burn pits, or the CHIPS Act, or the Inflation Reduction Act (which includes a ton of climate action). And there was crazy, concerning stuff, like the discovery of top secret government documents in the basement of a golf resort in Florida. Taking in all the news makes us distracted and a bit overwhelmed, and makes us all a bit tired.
There has been tons of climate news, as well. Catastrophic flooding in Kentucky and in Seoul, Korea. Devastating fires in the Northwest and across southern Europe. Dried up rivers in London (the Thames) and France (the Loire). Heat waves throughout the US. Being hot makes us all a bit cranky.
So here we are on Friday. Tired, and cranky. What’s a person to do?
Step away from the news, and from all tech, for that matter. Give your eyes and brain a rest. Whatever is going on? You can find out about it later. It likely doesn’t personally affect you at the moment, and despite the existence of 24/7 news channels, nothing is truly that urgent. (Or, if it is, you’ll get notified in other ways—e.g., if you need to get indoors due to a storm or evacuate due to a fire.)
Get outside, if it’s safe to do so where you are. Time in nature is good for you. You can read this post if you need more info on that.
Tune into your own wants and needs.
What does your body want or need right now? Are you tired? Hungry? Thirsty? Noticing that you want to move, or to lie down? If you need a snack or meal, is your body asking for protein, or fresh fruits or veggies, or carbs?
What is it that you most want to be doing right now? Maybe it’s dropping everything and reading a book. If you have plans, do you still want to do the thing? If not, can you cancel—and what do you want to do instead? (By the way: “Nothing” is an entirely acceptable answer.)
