Hello friends,
Seasonal shifts in Florida always make me feel a little out of whack. We just moved the clocks back, and the days are getting shorter. The weather should also be getting cooler, but mostly it’s still humid and muggy, with highs in the mid-eighties. The contrast throws me off. My body wants to shift even though the weather hasn’t turned the corner yet. I want to eat soups, drink hot teas, and bundle up in sweaters, but it’s just too damn hot for any of that.
Sometimes I want to shake my fists at the sky and yell at Florida to get its shit together. I want to groan whenever I see summer temperatures on my car’s thermometer. None of that will help, though, so I sigh and carry on with my day. And when we get a day or two of mid-70s weather, I appreciate it while it lasts.
I’m trying to be more gentle with my faults, real or perceived. Sometimes I get so frustrated with myself that I forget to be grateful for what I’m doing well. I focus all my thoughts on what I fucked up or the things I didn’t get done. But when I finish a project or get rewarded for my hard work, I write it off as unimportant. Sure, I may have found some success, but eventually, I’ll fail, so I need to prepare for that. Right? And instead of appreciating the beautiful weather, I moan about how it’ll end in a day or two, and we’ll return to our usual summer bullshit.
Negative self-talk has always been my arch-nemesis, but I’m working on it. For instance, a prominent Medium publication will post one of my poems on Sunday. I can’t link to it yet, but I’ll share it in next week’s email. Also, even though my leg isn’t back to normal, it’s better than it was a month ago. And any progress on that front is something to celebrate. So often, we focus so hard on the outcome that we lose sight of the little milestones along the way. Sometimes we never reach the finish line, so I’m trying to see those milestones as more than a consolation prize. They’re victories in their own right.
I hope the weather is cooling off wherever you are and the outer season is shifting with your inner one. Have a bowl of soup and a cup of tea for me.
Shabbat shalom,
Yardena
WEEKEND POTPOURRI:
These photos of Tokyo’s annual mundane Halloween costume party
This interesting poll showing that most Latinos don’t identify with the “Latinx” label
This hilarious illustration from 1778 of a woman with a wig on her butt
This woman whose wedding dress has been worn by brides in her family since 1895
These photos of elderly people dressed as embodiments of Nordic folklore