Author: barnabyshihz

Hello! I hope that this finds you healthy and happy. It’s always fun to catch up with a good, old-fashioned letter! Here’s a bit of an update on what’s going on in my world these days. I am SO excited about a new position that I have accepted – I am going to be a school nurse! After decades spent in the trenches of scrubbing and circulating in the operating room followed by a brief stint in the world of caring for the chronically mentally ill, I am blessed with an opportunity to have what is known in the trade as a “legacy” job. This is the final stage of my nursing career. As the brilliant poet, Maya Angelou, said, “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a…

A Little Backslide... Facebook Why? When I appear to be all about encouraging you to move forward and open yourself up to shifts in thinking and action, why am I offering you a chapter on backsliding? It’s a valid query and one that deserves a bit of discussion. I have found very few universal truisms in life, but I am willing to commit to at least one. When changing ways of behaving or thinking, backsliding happens. I would go so far as to affirm that it is almost a necessary part of a change process. Without taking advantage of the opportunity to stall while making changes, we miss out on the benefits of taking stock of our progress and reassessing our goals. While in a period of backsliding, we can…

The energy or mental capacity required to deal with a situation Facebook Recently, a friend asked if I continue to attend the meetings and activities of political action groups. After pondering my answer, I offered that I feel as though I have to keep showing up, regardless of how seemingly daunting some issues may be. My friend just shook her head. She volunteered that she simply “doesn’t have the bandwidth” for those activities. I totally get that. I have experienced the overwhelming frustration at how dismally ineffective my efforts have been at making any meaningful change. My bandwidth is close to being non-existent on some days, too. Every Monday, I go to the big social event of my week – a postcard writing group via a video call. I am…

02 Blog: Self-nourishment Life can get crazy busy sometimes! Facebook Work, school, family, chores, social commitments and the list goes on and on! It often feels as though there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done - let alone having a little time to focus on your own needs. There is currently a lot of background noise around the importance of ‘self-care’, but what does it really look like, and how does it work for those who spend so much of their lives caring for others? Does self-care mean booking in for a “day of beauty”? Planning a vacation to a tropical paradise? Having a fancy spa pedicure? Ordering that book that you have always wanted to read? Taking a nap on the hammock in the…