A Tangle of things.

It was a week of intentional distractions from the stress of a situation that’s 100% out of my control.

Don’t you love those?

God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change…
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.

Okay, God. I’m on it.  I get it. I can’t do anything about it.

Nothing. Nada. Zero. Not a thing.

So of course I only say “but maybe,” “if only,” “but just” and “but what if” about a thousand times a day.

But but but…., that number is down from about ten thousand, so I’m doing really well.

But what if I just send an email suggesting that Person One talks to Person Two and then maybe Person Three might blah blah blah. Then maybe just a few things could inspire everyone to wrap everything up and be all happy and do the right things and be all the right way about everything.

And maybe all of this will happen really fast.

So yeah.

Give me the wisdom to know the difference.

More importantly, give me the energy to find a billion different ways to distract myself so I don’t obsess about the stress.

Here are a few, fresh distractions I used this past week. These are pretty standard and reliable:

(1) Cream of Wheat Maple and Brown Sugar.

Works every time for me. Guaranteed happy ending. Yummy, comfy, cozy hug in a mug.

(2) Pandora curated stations from my favorite artists! Now really, how can that NOT be amazing?

Lately it’s a mix of 80’s alternative for the soothing-ness and sentimentality and also a ton of Christmas covers.  Nothing like a good cover.

Here’s a link to my Aztec Camera Radio on Pandora, which I keep accidentally calling Panera. And the channel is really just an homage to Split Enz Radio.

          “Hey, Alexa, play Six Months in a Leaky Boat on Panera!”

(3) Speaking of Christmas covers, thank you Coverville. You got my back. In a pinch, you’re a real friend.

In case you need to know, there are 17 covers of Blondie’s Heart of Glass and 24 covers of Call Me. Good information to know.

(4) A few minutes of trolling Instagram feels like the loss of years to me.

So, yeah! Great way to avoid stress obsessions!!

I can never see too many photos of celebrities wearing clothes you can’t wear anywhere. And anyone from the 90 Day Fiance machine cracks me up. Thank you to 90 Day Fiance and all the which ways, this way, the other way, all the way. You are a great stress buster!

(5) I checked out SMART Recovery’s new hoity toity fancy shmancy meeting finder online. And it’s sweet! It’s really easy to use and gets you a click to a meeting really fast. So here’s a plug for SMART Recovery and its great meetings. No matter what your addiction or maladaptive behavior, there’s a meeting for you!  And some of them come with great accents!

(6) It wouldn’t be right to mention to SMART Recovery without mentioning their amazing Toolbox. Check it out. Such good worksheets and handbooks and workbooks and blah blah blah.

(7) Researching the cost of candy by the pound was a critical activity this week. I started with Dylan Lauren’s little shop down the street. And WHOA! That’s no penny candy!

That was a pretty upsetting episode of internet research, but these are the things a cartoonist must do sometimes for material.

(8) I listened to way too much Scott Adams on Locals. OMG OMG OMG.

That is my very thoughtful and well considered response to all Scott Adams had to say this week. 🤎

The guy is a serious piece of work. And he makes me day. Pretty much every day.

You can catch him outside the paywall on YouTube.

Yeah, the paywall is a bitch. But seriously, the guy is EXTRA when he’s behind the paywall.

Scott Adams is capable of being EXTRA. Is that even possible? Like with the laws of science? And nature?

Just sayin’.

(9) I followed the trial of Jussie Smollett. SMH. That’s all. 

(10) I tried to watch Red Table Talk on YouTube. And I really want to watch it.

But It just seems so intense.

Choosing something really intense when I’m already being all intense is a bad move usually.

I’ll try again this week. Maybe there’s a better time for me to try RTT. Or maybe they’ve got a lighter side.

Or maybe I’ll be lighter this week.

(10) I did a bit of surfing around Rumi’s “The cure for the pain is in the pain.”

That quote really helps me for some reason. It’s a helpful reminder to not fight it.

Go with it. Even if.

And it’s Rumi. C’mon.

Rumi, man.

(11) And I perused Tara Brach’s offerings. Because her offerings are addictive. Duh.

Maybe if I have a headache from stressing out, I can embrace my headache and welcome it. That and some breathing works better than getting angry at the people who are causing me to have stress….or angry at the fact that I cannot control the source of the stress.

Blog: Working with Pain – Summary of Mindfulness Strategies

(12) And I listened to any funny podcast I could find about Housewives. Because all of the Housewives are crazy and ridiculous and they all make me laugh.

I’ll make a list of my favorite Housewives podcasts to share.. But seriously, that’s some stress relief right there on Bravo.

(13) Journaling! I journaled!

Because I journal!

All day everyday! I document everything!

Because it helps me to manage my stuff. Which is manageable if I manage it.

The electronic journal I love for regular everyday journaling is DayViewer.

I LOVE DayViewer!

If you need help getting started, let me know. I LOVE helping people journal!!!

And remember, it doesn’t have to be poetry or prose.

Just a few words or scribbles to connect you to your thoughts or feelings.

Okay, let’s stop at thirteen. Even though I tried many more than thirteen distractions to veer me away from stress, you probably have things to do, like buying a DayViewer subscription or eating Cream of Wheat while listening to Blondie’s Christmas offering.

Because Fab 5 Freddy.

Hope all is well and that you’re safe from bad weather and bad health.

Go hug someone you love. That’s always a good distraction from stress!

xoxoxo, dee (and bella)