Beautifully stated and so much more impact to listen to you telling this story. It’s interesting that sometimes filling space can calm down anxiety for a while by turning down the noise in our heads with distraction, but the downside of using that tactic is that you also disengage too often from your gut instincts and intuition. Those things live in that open space and when you go too long without getting in touch with your inner voice, you dull that important connection which I think can cause you to stop trusting yourself which opens the door to putting other people’s opinions and feelings ahead of your own. I feel so sad that many children today never seem to have that wide open unstructured space that many of us were gifted with. I never understood childhood friends that would say they were bored when there were so many ways to be creative with your free time. So much creativity and possibility are brought to life in the space between.
I never thought of life in the context of an unfolding, more like a series of events, some of which we have control over.
We as humans need the empty space required to pause and reflect. To think! The vastness of what the internet holds for us, is mostly fluff we don’t really need.
I almost drowned in Hawaii almost 45 years ago. The ocean was fierce and I was young and dove in head first ! Other than that it was so beautiful… I loved everything about it !
We all just want to find comfort and peace . I think it’s right at our footsteps and yet we miss it sometimes.
Our children are really all we need to find acceptance in this world as after we birth them , nothing can ever come close to the love . The rest is imagined and made up in our minds !
Alice , We all adore you and you’ve taught us well !! 💕
Alice, beautiful newsletter full of self reflection. As you had shared being off social media allowed you to see and feel everything around you. For me,
strolling through social media is a distraction. I found myself doing more of this as my children were away and out of the house. Having an empty house ( my husband and I) and going through the most difficult time in my cancer journey has drawn me to this distraction of social media. However, I have found it to be the worst thing for me physically and mentally. Strolling through posts that make me feel inferior and ashamed of my own body and being negatively judged by people who don’t know me at all had a huge impact on my health. Hearing and seeing this gave me so much clarity and understanding that no matter all the good you do in life, there is always someone who will want to tear you down. Taking a pause from social media is something i need to do, and lately with my work it has limited my viewing time. ( i see that pop up on my iPhone that tells me). Although the emptiness in my home is sad, i have found a new hobby, crocheting! At 54 i finally learned.
Reflecting on your newsletter….although this pause of social media lessens the distraction, i think it is so important that i understand….that yes my home is quiet and empty with not having my babies home….it just proves, I got this Mom thing right! My daughter graduated and successful and my two boys doing amazing in college. I need to feel blessed and know….this is all a Mom should want. You children to be happy and healthy. Success isn’t money, it’s having a heart full of love, acceptance and compassion. And by that, i am blessed. So when i feel that loneliness creep in, i want to reflect on the positive things that come with that, my children are grown and on their journey to a new adult life.
I think there are so many blessings around us….it just takes a little time for us to see them. For me, it is important to surround myself with those who are kind and sincere, and know and care about me the way i care about them.
Sorry this was long….but one thing i am so happy about is i leave on Friday to drive up to Vermont to bring my boys home from college. This is something i been so happy about
Beautifully stated and so much more impact to listen to you telling this story. It’s interesting that sometimes filling space can calm down anxiety for a while by turning down the noise in our heads with distraction, but the downside of using that tactic is that you also disengage too often from your gut instincts and intuition. Those things live in that open space and when you go too long without getting in touch with your inner voice, you dull that important connection which I think can cause you to stop trusting yourself which opens the door to putting other people’s opinions and feelings ahead of your own. I feel so sad that many children today never seem to have that wide open unstructured space that many of us were gifted with. I never understood childhood friends that would say they were bored when there were so many ways to be creative with your free time. So much creativity and possibility are brought to life in the space between.
isn't it fascinating how, 99% of the time, we often already have what (we think) we need?
I never thought of life in the context of an unfolding, more like a series of events, some of which we have control over.
We as humans need the empty space required to pause and reflect. To think! The vastness of what the internet holds for us, is mostly fluff we don’t really need.
Dear Alice,
I almost drowned in Hawaii almost 45 years ago. The ocean was fierce and I was young and dove in head first ! Other than that it was so beautiful… I loved everything about it !
We all just want to find comfort and peace . I think it’s right at our footsteps and yet we miss it sometimes.
Our children are really all we need to find acceptance in this world as after we birth them , nothing can ever come close to the love . The rest is imagined and made up in our minds !
Alice , We all adore you and you’ve taught us well !! 💕
Alice, beautiful newsletter full of self reflection. As you had shared being off social media allowed you to see and feel everything around you. For me,
strolling through social media is a distraction. I found myself doing more of this as my children were away and out of the house. Having an empty house ( my husband and I) and going through the most difficult time in my cancer journey has drawn me to this distraction of social media. However, I have found it to be the worst thing for me physically and mentally. Strolling through posts that make me feel inferior and ashamed of my own body and being negatively judged by people who don’t know me at all had a huge impact on my health. Hearing and seeing this gave me so much clarity and understanding that no matter all the good you do in life, there is always someone who will want to tear you down. Taking a pause from social media is something i need to do, and lately with my work it has limited my viewing time. ( i see that pop up on my iPhone that tells me). Although the emptiness in my home is sad, i have found a new hobby, crocheting! At 54 i finally learned.
Reflecting on your newsletter….although this pause of social media lessens the distraction, i think it is so important that i understand….that yes my home is quiet and empty with not having my babies home….it just proves, I got this Mom thing right! My daughter graduated and successful and my two boys doing amazing in college. I need to feel blessed and know….this is all a Mom should want. You children to be happy and healthy. Success isn’t money, it’s having a heart full of love, acceptance and compassion. And by that, i am blessed. So when i feel that loneliness creep in, i want to reflect on the positive things that come with that, my children are grown and on their journey to a new adult life.
I think there are so many blessings around us….it just takes a little time for us to see them. For me, it is important to surround myself with those who are kind and sincere, and know and care about me the way i care about them.
Sorry this was long….but one thing i am so happy about is i leave on Friday to drive up to Vermont to bring my boys home from college. This is something i been so happy about
Thank you Alice ❤️
Eileen