Yes to organized craft supplies equaling happiness and yes to being more present and off the screens! I love the idea of not relying on tech at all, but that seems almost impossible nowadays, still the challenges are worth it and we learn little by little. I heavily relate to being exhausted about global issues and politics, we’re all trying to find balance and I think that (our peace of mind and time to process things) matters more than being bombarded with bad news almost every day. I don’t like constantly knowing and being aware. We need time to destress too!
Yeah, it's so hard to exist without tech these days, and it keeps getting worse. We absolutely deserve time to destress and not know what the heck is going on. How do you carve out time for that for yourself?
It does get worse everyday. I just found out a relative wants to get a fridge that has a screen and it literally has Amazon and TikTok installed!! It’s honestly a bit sad, because fridges don’t need technology other than basic electrical settings… that screen would be one more addictive thing in the house. As for how do I carve out time to destress? Mmmm I’m still learning but I find that basic things make me feel better. Things like taking a shower and putting on a pair of freshly cleaned clothes afterwards and having zero tangles in my hair and feeling moisturized makes me feel better. Cracking a window open and feeling the breeze or looking out a window and watching birds and cars pass by kind of works too. Oh, zines! Making zines has been helping me stay in touch with myself. I’ve also gotten a library card after years of wanting to renew it and I’ve slowly started reading again. Things I did as a kid like writing, cutting and gluing things, reading, being outside and exercising even if it’s through simple walking has helped me stay off the screens and reconnect a bit with myself. Also word find puzzles from the dollar store! Playing dominos with myself too, games like that that require a bit of brain stimulation. Oops this message is long, but it’s basic things and necessities we kind of take for granted that has made me feel human again. Drinking tea has also helped a bit because 1) it’s water and staying hydrated is important and 2) depending on what kind it is, it can help manage your stress and anxiety levels or maybe even give you a boost of focus. It’s also realizing when you chose to put the phone down or not turn on the tv or shut down the computer that are little acts of rebellion. I keep editing this message and adding more every time I press save, but looking into local community events and writing them down somewhere and knowing they exist feels nice. Then when you feel ready, you can try attending the events. Browsing a library for hours without headphones and the phone in your purse and out of sight is so fun!
OMG do we need our appliances to have internet now too?!?! So weird! You offered so many great suggestions for staying grounded. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the basics like hydration and moisturizing! I actually just started a local newsletter for our little corner of South Jersey to help get information about events and our small businesses some more consistent visibility! And yes, seeing all the good things helps a LOT. It’s summer concert and farm market season here so I’ve been out helping set up and will be helping out at the farmer’s market. You and I are like right there on all of this!
I know!! it’s so sad and kind of scary that humans are getting so used to relying on tech!? I’m glad I managed to give you a great response. Basics are sooooo important, tiny little pleasures and goals can definitelyyy add up and make you feel better! I just read your other article and omg first of all, looove the fight haha! And second, I checked out your local newsletter and it looks so gooddd!! It makes me want to be part of your local community, so you’re plan totally works!! I’m also happy to inform you that after browsing around my library’s website I found out my local area has a community magazine/newsletter too!! It felt like such odd (but great) timing! I found out they do a small pet parade to raise money for animal shelters and it’s so sad that people miss such cool information!! What you’re doing is so cool and amazing please NEVER STOP!! Im not sure about volunteering opportunities here, BUT I am tempted to join my libraries summer reading program as a way of showing support and encouragement. Good luck with the summer events!! Hope to hear how it goes. It’s so great how we can find inspiration and wisdom through one another. It’s moments like these that make me cherish humanity. good luck in your endeavors !!
Oh gosh thanks for checking out my lil startup newsletter! I'm so glad you found one in your area too - they seem to be helpful to lots of different kinds of people in ways I didn't expect. I love the idea of a pet parade, gonna add that to my idea bank! I'm lucky to be networked in with a bunch of the nonprofits this early - turns out all it took was someone rolling up their sleeves and not waiting for someone else to do it! I'm really honored to be a part of the ripple effect that's made its way to you, and if you have the time/bandwidth to get involved even an tiny bit, it's so worth it!
They are so helpful!! There’s so many places and events I wasn’t aware of and I’m so glad people are choosing to keep our own communities alive by starting with each other first! To make it even better, the pet food parade was also welcoming to pets besides just cats and dogs! There was a competition for most odd pet, one for tricks, and another one for best costume!! I didn’t go but it sounds so fun. There was also raffles and you could donate animal supplies too rather than just money. It was interesting that the parade encourages costumes! I would love for this to spread over to your community too. Yesss!!! If you see something you want but isn’t available, MAKE IT!! START IT!! That’s the best thing you can do for yourself and others! You never know who else wants that thing too but was afraid or didn’t have the proper resources for it! Oh I’m definitely going to try to sign up for my libraries summer Reading program, even if I only manage to read a few books, it’ll be worth it! Another thing you can add to your idea bank are movie nights. There’s this movie night event that started recently, where there’s a plaza with stores and in the summer once a month they rent a truck with a screen on it that plays movies and you can just chill in the parking lot sitting down outside or in your car! It’s great because you can buy snacks or food nearby and just walk back to the parking lot! If it’s too cold or hot, they can give you a radio station to tune into the movie without having to listen to it with your windows open!! I felt like the radio listening experience was very accessible friendly and I loved it! I fear I’ve already become the plaza’s photographer’s muse simply by participating at the plazas events!🤣 Another event the plaza has is a chalk art competition!! If I participate this year, I’ll try writing about it! It’s so much fun and it’s great to see people of all sorts having fun and enjoying themselves! From kids to adults, and different levels of skill, it’s all beautiful art! The best part is besides the judges, the crowd, artists, and pedestrians are encouraged to be part of the judging as well!
Yes to organized craft supplies equaling happiness and yes to being more present and off the screens! I love the idea of not relying on tech at all, but that seems almost impossible nowadays, still the challenges are worth it and we learn little by little. I heavily relate to being exhausted about global issues and politics, we’re all trying to find balance and I think that (our peace of mind and time to process things) matters more than being bombarded with bad news almost every day. I don’t like constantly knowing and being aware. We need time to destress too!
Yeah, it's so hard to exist without tech these days, and it keeps getting worse. We absolutely deserve time to destress and not know what the heck is going on. How do you carve out time for that for yourself?
It does get worse everyday. I just found out a relative wants to get a fridge that has a screen and it literally has Amazon and TikTok installed!! It’s honestly a bit sad, because fridges don’t need technology other than basic electrical settings… that screen would be one more addictive thing in the house. As for how do I carve out time to destress? Mmmm I’m still learning but I find that basic things make me feel better. Things like taking a shower and putting on a pair of freshly cleaned clothes afterwards and having zero tangles in my hair and feeling moisturized makes me feel better. Cracking a window open and feeling the breeze or looking out a window and watching birds and cars pass by kind of works too. Oh, zines! Making zines has been helping me stay in touch with myself. I’ve also gotten a library card after years of wanting to renew it and I’ve slowly started reading again. Things I did as a kid like writing, cutting and gluing things, reading, being outside and exercising even if it’s through simple walking has helped me stay off the screens and reconnect a bit with myself. Also word find puzzles from the dollar store! Playing dominos with myself too, games like that that require a bit of brain stimulation. Oops this message is long, but it’s basic things and necessities we kind of take for granted that has made me feel human again. Drinking tea has also helped a bit because 1) it’s water and staying hydrated is important and 2) depending on what kind it is, it can help manage your stress and anxiety levels or maybe even give you a boost of focus. It’s also realizing when you chose to put the phone down or not turn on the tv or shut down the computer that are little acts of rebellion. I keep editing this message and adding more every time I press save, but looking into local community events and writing them down somewhere and knowing they exist feels nice. Then when you feel ready, you can try attending the events. Browsing a library for hours without headphones and the phone in your purse and out of sight is so fun!
OMG do we need our appliances to have internet now too?!?! So weird! You offered so many great suggestions for staying grounded. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the basics like hydration and moisturizing! I actually just started a local newsletter for our little corner of South Jersey to help get information about events and our small businesses some more consistent visibility! And yes, seeing all the good things helps a LOT. It’s summer concert and farm market season here so I’ve been out helping set up and will be helping out at the farmer’s market. You and I are like right there on all of this!
I know!! it’s so sad and kind of scary that humans are getting so used to relying on tech!? I’m glad I managed to give you a great response. Basics are sooooo important, tiny little pleasures and goals can definitelyyy add up and make you feel better! I just read your other article and omg first of all, looove the fight haha! And second, I checked out your local newsletter and it looks so gooddd!! It makes me want to be part of your local community, so you’re plan totally works!! I’m also happy to inform you that after browsing around my library’s website I found out my local area has a community magazine/newsletter too!! It felt like such odd (but great) timing! I found out they do a small pet parade to raise money for animal shelters and it’s so sad that people miss such cool information!! What you’re doing is so cool and amazing please NEVER STOP!! Im not sure about volunteering opportunities here, BUT I am tempted to join my libraries summer reading program as a way of showing support and encouragement. Good luck with the summer events!! Hope to hear how it goes. It’s so great how we can find inspiration and wisdom through one another. It’s moments like these that make me cherish humanity. good luck in your endeavors !!
Oh gosh thanks for checking out my lil startup newsletter! I'm so glad you found one in your area too - they seem to be helpful to lots of different kinds of people in ways I didn't expect. I love the idea of a pet parade, gonna add that to my idea bank! I'm lucky to be networked in with a bunch of the nonprofits this early - turns out all it took was someone rolling up their sleeves and not waiting for someone else to do it! I'm really honored to be a part of the ripple effect that's made its way to you, and if you have the time/bandwidth to get involved even an tiny bit, it's so worth it!
They are so helpful!! There’s so many places and events I wasn’t aware of and I’m so glad people are choosing to keep our own communities alive by starting with each other first! To make it even better, the pet food parade was also welcoming to pets besides just cats and dogs! There was a competition for most odd pet, one for tricks, and another one for best costume!! I didn’t go but it sounds so fun. There was also raffles and you could donate animal supplies too rather than just money. It was interesting that the parade encourages costumes! I would love for this to spread over to your community too. Yesss!!! If you see something you want but isn’t available, MAKE IT!! START IT!! That’s the best thing you can do for yourself and others! You never know who else wants that thing too but was afraid or didn’t have the proper resources for it! Oh I’m definitely going to try to sign up for my libraries summer Reading program, even if I only manage to read a few books, it’ll be worth it! Another thing you can add to your idea bank are movie nights. There’s this movie night event that started recently, where there’s a plaza with stores and in the summer once a month they rent a truck with a screen on it that plays movies and you can just chill in the parking lot sitting down outside or in your car! It’s great because you can buy snacks or food nearby and just walk back to the parking lot! If it’s too cold or hot, they can give you a radio station to tune into the movie without having to listen to it with your windows open!! I felt like the radio listening experience was very accessible friendly and I loved it! I fear I’ve already become the plaza’s photographer’s muse simply by participating at the plazas events!🤣 Another event the plaza has is a chalk art competition!! If I participate this year, I’ll try writing about it! It’s so much fun and it’s great to see people of all sorts having fun and enjoying themselves! From kids to adults, and different levels of skill, it’s all beautiful art! The best part is besides the judges, the crowd, artists, and pedestrians are encouraged to be part of the judging as well!
Kudos to you for this piece, and also the Connect Four meme is ::chef's kiss::!
Hahaha thanks, I feel like that meme could follow us all around and be accurate at this point! Glad you connected with this one.
Yeah, I went there LOL