All posts tagged: finding inspiration in the midst of a crisis

doctor’s orders: much needed rest

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I had a health scare Thursday, which somewhat put a lot of things into perspective. I mean, why is it that, we push ourselves to the limits and only react when we are faced with an emergency visit to the doctor’s office?  I just don’t understand. But anyway, we are human and this is what we do. With that said, I have to say my doctor’s orders are much-needed rest and time to wind down. Something, of course, I hadn’t been doing.  His instruction was to go home and think of ways to relax or find relaxation and hence, I spend the greater part of yesterday afternoon thinking of ways to do just that: 1. A walk through the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park – San Francisco 2. Spend an afternoon at a neighborhood old fashioned bookstore – West Portal, San Francisco 3. Spend a day at a hot spring spa in Calistoga, California (near Napa) 4. Rent a paddleboat for Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park and circle the lake while listening …

cold weather blues

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I never thought I would say this, but since we’ve had freezing temperatures throughout most of California, I have literally shut down in more ways than I imagined could be possible.  The strange thing about this weather, which is holding steady at 34ish in the city and 28 or less in the suburbs, is that people actually hibernate and that makes for a dreary day, almost every day this week. What’s happened to everyone? There was a point during my lunch hour on Monday and Tuesday, that I walked through Union Square and was able to count the number of people in the streets and as for the retail shops, the sales clerks outnumbered the cliental in most any store I walked through. This is a hard thing to see right after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.   The worst about this weather is that all I  crave for is comfort food and find it difficult to stay focused on my brand new eating plan.  In addition to the food cravings, it seems I have also lost my creativity …

christmas time in paris – healing process

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Everyone has a different way of coping and healing. While some go into major depression and withdraw, others, yell and shout to release anger and frustration. This entire weekend,  being devastated by the events which occurred in Newtown Connecticut, I somewhat shut down. Naturally of course, otherwise I couldn’t consider myself human. I couldn’t find inspiration anywhere. Not the malls, not at home, not watching old classics. But  then I realized, after watching the memorial service on Sunday night, I needed to find a way to heal myself, not because I was being selfish, but because I needed to be okay for my family. I started weeding through what made me happy and decided that every time I felt anguish to list a few things that made me feel enlightened and even focused to start the healing process.  I reached out to loved ones and shared a few laughs, I discussed the final draft of my book with my dear mother, I held my dog for comfort and finally I searched for photographs of Christmas time in Paris. …