This morning as I woke up to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, at 8.30am, still half asleep and not really listening, I suddenly found myself hearing what he said, as he made a mistake!
A boy on the telephone was about to tell a joke, Chris Evans announced it as “Joke 78 for Day 78”. I suddenly, thought – hang-on, it’s not Day 78 today, it’s Day 79!! I can’t quite believe that what day it is in lock-down is so much embedded in my psyche! But it clearly is.
I just re-listened to the show again to check that it was for today and not for yesterday. But clearly at 8.22am it was a joke for today – “Day 78”.
The bonus of him getting this wrong, made me alert very suddenly and I was awake. Instead, of my slowly waking up and finally pushing myself out of bed at 8.30am.
This is my 3rd alarm – I don’t seem to even be aware of the other two!
The first is the clock-radio coming on at 8.10am. Then the radio goes off at 8.15am and an alarm goes off, which I have to switch off. Then the radio comes back on at 8.20am. At 8.25am, my phone alarm starts going off. And usually, by then Honey the Dog is walking over me with a toy in her mouth pushing it in my face – trying to get me up, as she knows the radio coming on means ‘Time to get up’!
Today has been cold and wet!
For most of today it rained. A kind of light thin rain, if you know what I mean. Also quite cold. The last few days I have returned to wearing my winter jacket! On Sunday at the BarBQ I had my scarf on too!
With the thought, that I always over do things at the start of the week, I tried to take it a little easier today. I remember back in the early days of lock-down, I would always take the whole day off on a Wednesday – lie on the sofa and watch films all day. I haven’t done that for weeks.
So, I did quite a lot of work this morning, which included recording more of my blog for the radio Deepness Dementia Radio and then went for a short walk with Honey to Kate’ sPark, before having some food and lying on the sofa to catch-up with Eastenders. First time this week to have some time on the sofa. But I fell asleep for an hour! Waking up suddenly, thinking it was 8.30am in the morning and time to get up for Chi Gong!
Today I was thinking about the words which were used a lot in the early days of lock-down ‘Stay Safe’.
Many years ago – I think in 1995, I read the books You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay and Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers. These were the first ‘self help’ books I read. This followed reading over 100 ‘self help’ books in the next few years. I’d love going to Waterstones spending a few hours in the ‘Popular Psychology’ section, which is where all these books would be.
They would also touch on ‘metaphysics’ and ‘spiritual’ areas. Which is what I moved into after the 100 self-help books. These books were more the underlying theory that underpins a lot of the more spiritual side of self-help books. Before, finally moving into reading over 60 books on death and dying!
I think it was in Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, that she talked about the messages we give to ourselves, through the language we use. Louise Hay also talks about this a little. But I think the particular example that Susan Jeffers used was the words “Take Care”. That we often say to people when we are saying goodbye. She said by saying these words – we are communicating that in fact, we are telling our mind/body, that we need to ‘watch out’ – that the world is a scary, unsafe place to be in – hence we need to “take care”.
I was talking to my friend Ivan about this a couple of weeks ago. He was telling me about some research that has shown, that the stories that we tell ourselves – in our heads – and in our language, etc…is ‘heard’ by our bodies and our mind – and so we start believe it and change towards that way.
For example, if you tell yourself “I am getting old”. Your body/mind will hear this and you will age quicker! Interesting!
Indeed Louise Hay in You Can Heal Your Life, talks about this a lot – giving positive affirmations you can tell yourself daily as exercises. In an attempt to change the negative stories and “internal chat” we have in our heads over and over again!
I got so into Louise Hay’s work back in the late 1990’s, I considered to train as a Louise Hay Therapist! Thankfully I didn’t – I think I would have been narrowing my viewpoints too early in life. Looking back on it, I think I would have become ‘evangelical’ in her way of thinking – where as now, I am glad I am more open and eclectic.
Back to the phrase ‘Take Care’. I am also very aware, that it is a great phrase that many of us use, at the end of an email, letter, text, etc…although back when these books were written it was before before email, text, etc…but it is often a phrase we use a lot!
This is not to place judgement on anyone who uses this phrase or to criticise. Just to bring another viewpoint. I find it interesting and what I have been mulling over recently.
After reading this back in 1995, I chose the words ‘Enjoy Life’ to include at the end of a letter, card, etc…Which I kept doing for many years. Although, many people said it seemed quite final – but I felt it was more positive and was not giving the message that the world is a scary unsafe place to be!
If I want to send a message to anyone that are finding life hard, I prefer to write “You look after yourself”. Which for me is communicating that it is OK to take things easy, when life is hard.
All this made me think about the words we have been saying over and over in lock-down ‘Stay Safe. Obviously, this is important – because the world is potentially more unsafe due to ‘the virus’.
But I wonder, how it affects our body/mind in believing the world is now a lot more an unsafe place to be in?
Who knows – just thought I would share what I have been mulling over the last few days!
Readers Corner
Today, we have two people sharing – Anna and Fi.
Anna
My sister Anna, shared some photos from her vegetable garden. She said:
“My carrots which are not quite big enough to plant in the vegetable beds yet”
And
“Broad beans, sugar snaps and runner beans
And in the photo with me in it, potatoes as well!”
Anna said she will share photos of their flowers tomorrow, for Readers Corner! Thanks for that Anna. Looks lovely.
Fi
Fi sent me a message and photo this afternoon from the Isle of Canna, saying:
“Just been out with the dogs and our black lives matter protest”.
Thanks Fi. A pretty good turn-out with only 16 residents on the island. Think I count 11 people and 2 dogs? She said the photo was taken on “the magic timer”.
When I asked if they had any statues in Canna that could be pulled down, she replied saying:
“No statues but my house was built with slave money 
“
When I asked whether it should be pulled down, she replied:
“Yes, but not because of that, just because it’s falling down 
“
Thanks for that Fi. Looks like quite a nice day in Canna too 🙂
It Made Me Smile
This morning, after Chi Gong, I was talking with my sister Anna about this section – and if it’s worth keeping or not. She said she liked the first appearance of it, with the guys trying to get a McDonalds in a toy car / cardboard car. But since maybe not. I completely agree.
So she decided to find somethings to share for me to include in this section.
Anna writes:
“This article has made me smile.
It is fantastic that Iceland (the food shop) has adopted the penguins at Chester Zoo. It is a lovely thing to do and has made me smile.
It also has made me smile as penguins are found in the Southern Hemisphere and Iceland Country is in the Northern Hemisphere. My son had a top as a toddler from Tesco and it had the world printed on the front with various animals in the locations where they live. I remember my son was shocked that the penguins were at the North Pole and how they should be at the South. Someone obviously didn’t do their research properly.
According to the article, penguins are associated with all things frozen which is why they were the species chosen by Iceland to be adopted.”
The article shares that Iceland supermarket has adopted ALL Chester Zoo Penguins and is lobbying the government to help the zoo survive, which is facing an uncertain future.
The web address for the articles is here –
Anna continued saying:
“I wondered if Chester Zoo has Polar Bears as I associate them with cold frozen places.
They do and apparently the Polar Bears ‘new’ enclosure was started in 1944. Building materials were in short supply but after the war George Mottershead [founder of Chester Zoo] wondered if he could use the now obsolete anti tank road blocks.
After a few enquiries he was told he could have them if he arranged to have them moved. He arranged a local contractor to collect as many as possible within a 10 mile radius. Very shortly he had over 2000 and together with materials from Pill Boxes in the zoo, the new enclosure was built, parts of which can still be seen today.”
Here’s the link to that article – www.chesterzoo.org/memories/large-polar-bear-enclosure-is-built
Anna continues:
“What an interesting story I have discovered. All I was doing was seeing if Chester Zoo had polar bears!”
“I don’t think Chester Zoo has polar bears now, The Telegraph article that says Britain’s last polar bear was moved to Edinburgh Zoo in 2009″
“I had better get on and stop researching Polar bears!”.
Wow – thanks for all the sharing Anna! That was really interesting 🙂
If you find anything that you want to share in this section, please do forward onto me.
As I come to the end of today’s blog, I want to thank Anna, for all the research and sharing. I think it’s made today’s blog 🙂
I am sure my blog is more interesting when you hear from others too. So please do share whatever you want. If you don’t know if it is relevant, don’t worry – I could even create a new blog section, just for you!
Every evening before Bedtime Chi Gong, I take Honey the Dog for a bedtime walk around the graveyard. I have started to develop the practice of taking a photo of the sky and including it in this section. Tonight it was raining!
Over the last week or so, I also wave at Aileen, whose flat is at the other end of the graveyard. She is usually on her sofa in her living room, by the window. She knows the approximate time I go out. Sometimes, she isn’t near the window, other times she doesn’t look up. It’s a lovely way to connect with her at the end of the evening. Today, I stood for about a minute, until she looked up and we waved.
During our bedtime walk, I remembered what Chris Evans was talking about this morning on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. He was talking about the three massive things that have happened in 2020.
Firstly, all the protests by Extinction Rebellion which has grown rapidly, due to the fact that if we don’t change the way we live, we are going to become ‘extinct’, leading to governments changing their time-frames. Secondly, how in a very short period of a few weeks, we have met the climate change targets that were set for 2050. Obviously, this has come from lock-down, but still it has shown it is possible. Thirdly, the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which is rapidly changing the world we live in.
Reflecting on all this, I wonder, whether 2020 is the year for change? There has been massive change in just 6 months. Very rapid change.
I wonder, whether Covid-19 and lock-down, has given us time to pause, sitting in our homes, reflecting about our lives and the world we live in, realising that we need to change things NOW. Not in a few years time. Not at some point in the future. But right NOW! And it seems that we are doing it!
Is there a shift in our collective consciousness? Is there a shift in a our global actualising tendency? A shift in ourselves and the world that we want to live in?
I hope so.
Enjoy Life.
Jim xxx
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