Joy and sometimes frustration in the little things

There are times where it seems an uphill battle not to cave under the pressure of ever day life. Sometimes the little things just feel like too much. You find yourself becoming frustrated by small setbacks or the little idiosyncrasies of your family. The daily search (at least in my case) for your car keys is almost as insurmountable as solving a problem in quantum physics. There are days where you just feel like you have no energy.
So what do you do?
Well for me, this last two days has been such a time. I have been discovering the joys of setting up a website. Thankfully I have friends and a husband that can help me. But sometimes the only option is to just step away and do something else. Go outside, read, or even just lean back and close your eyes. Allow your mind to dwell on something else for a bit.
It may not always help you solve the problem, but I find I usually handle it better than if I allow the frustration to mount.
So that is what I'm doing right now. I'm taking a break from the website to rant a little and then I'm going to make some tea or something. So my words of wisdom (which aren't really mine but anyone's with common sense) are: If you feel frustrated, step back, do something you enjoy and then deal with the less pleasant part of things.

A Lovely Day

                Today I woke up in my normal groggy fashion. It seems that I am no longer quite the morning person. I ate some breakfast, cleaned the house a bit, and stepped outside to enjoy the perfect weather. Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. I gave a couple massages in the afternoon. I got to eat my lunch outside on a patio while reading. You can't beat reading outside on a nice day. It made me long for a hammock and a big shade tree. 

              I was also able to pamper my mother a little today. I treated her and myself to pedicures and manicures (I must sadly report I've already chipped my nail polish). My mom is an awesome person who does far too little for herself. We had a great time chatting and enjoying time with each other. 

             So nothing brilliant or earth shattering to post, but I guess I just want to say today was beautiful and I have a great mom.

 

Unplugged

          So it is quite obvious that I don't often post here. One reason being is that I don't feel like I have much to say. The other is that I tend to forget I even have a blog... ahem. So I would like to focus a little on how good it can be to unplug once in a while.
          A trait that has become more and more prevalent in our society is that of always being connected. We are constantly being bombarded with emails, texts, videos, facebook, and so on. I don't consider it a bad thing to be able to stay in contact with friends, or have information easily accessible. However, I think there is a certain amount of damage this influx of stimulus has caused. We have become creatures of instant gratification. We want everything now, right this second as I'm asking for it. We become frustrated when our internet connection is slow, or feel as if the world will end if the network crashes. I admit to feeling this way. However, there was a day a few weeks ago where I forgot my phone at home. At first I kinda freaked. But I just realized the worst that would happen is I'd miss a call and have to call someone back. It really felt nice to not being so easily reached. I felt like I could actually relax a little.
           I'm no doctor or someone with a PhD who can tell you how this constant flow of info affects people's brain waves. But I do know how frustrating it is when a person's cell goes off during a session and they want to answer it. I actually gave a chair massage to someone who spent the whole time texting. I just don't see how it can be good for us to be so bound up in technology. Another side effect I've seen is how people are forgetting how to interact with others. I've seen couples at dinner sitting across the table from each other totally ignoring each other because they are on their phones.
            I'm not anti-technology, not even close. I'm not saying everyone is plugged in 24-7. I actually have several friends who really dislike cellphones or laptops. But I am saying that in general, we can't seem to function without some device or other strapped to our ear. So to anyone who reads this I offer a challenge. Pick ONE day in the next week. Or if that's just not possible (I know job requirements and needing to be able to be reached by family etc), start with one hour. No phone and no computer. Find something else to do with your time. You might just find you enjoy time without updates and tweets.
There is a really beautiful world out there. We should enjoy it a little more.