by Beth Woolsey -

Quick Life Tip: Frosted Mini Wheats with Brown Sugar and Garlic Salt Is Not OK, After All

I had Frosted Mini Wheats with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a dusting of garlic salt today which I initially decided was fine.

It was the usual situation. Four hours after waking up, I decided I ought to feed myself. Some people make themselves and their physical needs a priority, understanding that providing their own bodies with nourishment upon waking allows them to better care for others. I imagine they set their alarms for early in the morning, rise cheerfully before their children, make themselves multi-grain avocado toast or a two-egg omelette, and eat it from an actual plate while sitting at the kitchen table with a dare-I-say hot cup of coffee or bright lemon tea. I can only assume people like that are generally rational and well-adjusted with an appropriate balance of self-care… and that they don’t wake up in a high-strung panic after hitting snooze thirteen times, thinking of all the tasks they must accomplish immediately, or yesterday, or last year, and itemizing the ever-expanding list of people they’ve let down with their lack of follow-through on their Very Good Intentions. ...  read more

by Beth Woolsey -

On Butting In and Why It’s Important if We Want to Build a Healthy Community

I met a man at 8:27am on Friday — let’s call him Rick — at a hospital where I’d dropped off my sister-in-law for an appointment. I was in the lobby waiting for her and considering the two-story glass and steel flower sculpture suspended from the dome in the ceiling — and, because there’s nothing like an anxiety/depressive disorder to steal joy, wondering how wise such a spectacular, delicate piece will seem after Cascadia, the Grand Earthquake tasked with killing us all, shakes it from its mooring — when Rick appeared on a cell phone call with his adult daughter.  ...  read more

by Beth Woolsey -

The Midterms and the Lost Art of Waiting

  TODAY’S GOAL: DO NOT LOSE MY GD MIND ON ELECTION DAY. UNA PROBLEMA: I AM ME. 🙄   ENTER: My friend, Doreen, who’s one of the raddest people I know because… a) She’s FIERY. b) She’s good times. c) She listens to humans like they’re really wise and really wonderful and INHERENTLY WORTH hearing, especially children, so I’d like to elect her President of the Universe, please. STAT.  d) She’s the inventor of My Favorite Shirt of All Time which reads, “only i can prevent narcissism.” 😂 TRUE TRUTH, folks.     And, last but not least…   e) She helps lead the way toward better self-care during these Crazy Times, and I NEED THAT BAD about now. You probably do, too, so Doreen’s agreed to let me share this with you. THANK GOODNESS. And thanks, Doreen.   Waving, friends, always,          

The Midterms and the Lost Art of Waiting: Why Re-Learning How to Wait Can Help Us Stay Sane as We Wait for Results ...  read more

by Beth Woolsey -

No Shame November

I’ve never participated in No Shave November. 

There are people who do. Beard-growers glory in No Shave November, and so do those eager to put away the razor and let the leg locks run wild.

Good for them, I say. Way to TAKE A BREAK from being sheared and shorn and neat and tidy. Way to say ADIEU to expectations. Way to find REST and RESPITE from the Usual, Methodical Things we think we Have to Do. ...  read more

by Beth Woolsey -

5 Ways to Celebrate World Mental Health Day

Hey! Guess what today is? 

RIGHT.

It’s World Mental Health Day.

Here are the 5 Things I’m Doing to Celebrate:

1. Breathing. Not, like, mindfully or anything. I mean, Mindful Breathing is AWESOME. An excellent discipline to practice. Highly recommend. But for today, I’m simply celebrating that breath is entering my body and leaving it, over and over, like living people do, because BREATHING means I’m ALIVE which means I’ve KICKED MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE TEETH. Boom. Breathing. ...  read more