Gratituesday 8.18.20 - Mood Swings

Over the weekend, my father gave me a mood ring. It started off as dark blue, and then turned brown and then green. Talk about mood swings! I asked what it all meant and he gave me this paper guide. Blue is ‘relaxed and calm,’ brown is ‘nervous and overworked,’ green is ‘average and focused.’ However, since I’ve been home it’s just been black. Which I just looked up. Black is ‘stressed and very tense.’ Really?!? I started laughing. This surprises me, actually. Am I stressed and tense? Not really.

I did some further digging, and saw that mood rings are not really accurate. I know, I know of course they’re not. The changing of the colors is based on the temperature of liquid crystals in the ring. And they are affected by external temperatures, as well as your body temperature, so it’s not consistent. It’s a silly thing, but the ring is simple and attractive. So, I’ll continue to wear it.

But it does get me thinking about mood swings. How quickly we flip and experience a different emotion. How easily what people say and do affect us. It allows me to be mindful about external forces and how much I allow in. Perhaps it’s my Zen brain talking. My mindful 90-days of continuous meditation practice. However, we have choices. We can let the negativity around us bother us, but how do we handle the positivity? What do we let in, and what do we keep out? Of course, this brings me more reflection. And reflection allows me to create my weekly lists. Wanna join me in a little gratitude, victory and desire? Awesome. Here are my lists. I dare you to add your own. Off we go!

Gratitudes

1. Cooler temperatures

2. Cold brew & chilled wine

3. My parents for all of their care & support

4. A washing machine & dryer in my apartment

5. My yoga students for continuing to show up and hold me accountable

Victories

1. 151 consecutive days of Spanish lessons on Duolingo

2. Booking 2 new weddings this week

3. Buying (used) nightstands for my bedroom - and having room for TWO!

4. Keeping up with a daily meditation practice

5. Recording a video for my first business summit

Desires

1. To stop feeling that there was more time in the day

2. A stronger friend circle

3. To reach a human at the Unemployment office

4. To have a fully clean kitchen

5. For our country to unite, and for the current administration to stop the shenanigans around voter suppression