Breathing in October
October comes with a lot of beauty in Georgia. The colors change, the air gets crisp in the mornings and evenings. When you breath it in deeply, it’s almost euphoric.
With that euphoria, things tend to speed up. It’s the time of year people start gearing up for the holidays. There are festivals, camping trips, weddings, bonfires, BBQs, the list goes on. For me, it’s a double edged sword.
Most of my life, I’ve thrived in business and chaos. Staying occupied helped me stay sane. In the last 5 years I’ve been on a healing journey. I hit rock bottom [again, for the first time since I was 18], I started on medication [antidepressants and anti anxiety meds], I went to therapy, I put in the work, I healed some, but mostly I LEARNED. I came off the medications, and today I’m in a place where I understand my limits and needs. I can anticipate and protect myself in a healthy way. I hate the word boundaries, but I can safely say I know what healthy boundaries look like now.
Instead of jumping into the crazy the way I typically would, this year, things are different. While I used to jump in with both feet, to keep my mind and heart occupied, never taking the time to slow and process, this year, I’m approaching fall with deep breaths.
Taking deep literal breaths is essential for me. Beyond that though, there are other things I do to breathe deeply that I’m making a priority with this October.
Painting every day. The best form of therapy for me comes when I sit down to create. The act of taking a blank canvas [or piece of paper] and trusting my hands to create beauty resets my heart and mind.
Getting outside. The air [as previously mentioned], along with the colors help me stop and reflect on the Creator of it all. It reminds me how small I am. It reminds me how little control I have over anything in life.
Choosing to exercise. Exercise has been an important part of my mental health for years, but unlike the rest of the world, its something I got OUT of practice with during the major part of the pandemic. Even if it’s a short at home workout, I’m challenging myself to bring exercise back into my daily routine in October.
I’m determined to enter the holiday season feeling refreshed and alive, not stressed and overwhelmed. What small shifts are you going to take to achieve the same?
New fall abstract minis and a few others are now available. For a discount code, sign up for the email list.
Fall foliage photo by Greg Shield available on Unsplash
