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Thanks x Two

/ Luanne Shernisky / Leave a comment

Great post Stuart! Your knack for “shucking” the mundane and finding something marvelous is something I want to learn, so I’ll be following. Thanks for stopping by my blog; I want my readers to meet you if they haven’t already.

Stuart M. Perkins's avatarStoryshucker

On a recent evening commute, a woman boarded the bus and rushed towards me. Rather than sit, she seemed to fall into the empty seat beside mine, a mound of heavy coat, thick scarf, and several bags. She wedged a bag between her feet and dug through her purse producing a pen and ragged notepad. Flipping frantically through its frayed pages, she peered at me over glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

“I have to make a list of things I’m thankful for.” she said with irritation.

I didn’t ask why, but glanced at her notepad. She was grateful for some important things, with “health” and “job” written so far on her list. She saw me looking.

“I need ideas. What are you thankful for?” She sounded aggravated.

I thought back to when my daughter was small. I told the woman how my daughter’s eyes lit up when we…

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New Year Once Again

/ Luanne Shernisky / Leave a comment

2016

In my last post of December 30th, where I talked about making positivity one of my New Year’s resolutions, I used the following quote:

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” ~ Bill Vaughan

So, how do you describe someone who doesn’t stay up at all? 

Unlike many years prior, I fell asleep around 10:00 pm. I didn’t don a plastic lei and party hat or watch the annual entertainment TV shows; the only thing I was rock’in on New Year’s Eve was a flannel nightgown and a strong desire for sleep.

But that’s to be expected. I was up at 6 am to catch a 9:40 flight from Orlando to Pittsburgh for a visit back to my hometown. My significant other (whom I’ll call SO) picked me up at the airport and we drove an hour to my former home and place of employment to say hello to a few coworkers and friends. From there we went for an early dinner at my favorite restaurant. With a full belly and warm shower my next stop was dreamland.

Party_poppers

New Year’s Eve as a child was the official end of the holidays and pretty much a non-event after the excitement of Christmas. My parents got all gussied up and went out to party with their friends. The next morning my siblings and I enjoyed the funny looking hats and noisemakers that we always found on the dining room table; remnants of our parents’ celebration. 

As a teenager I welcomed in the new year by attending house parties and later, after turning 21, bars and nightclubs. Once I married and the children came along I stayed home, renting movies and making our favorite snacks. They got a kick out of staying up late to watch the festivities in Times Square and I got a kick out of watching them.

The theme of many of my posts tends to be “times sure have changed,” but that’s par for the course for someone at mid life and older. We’ve cycled through childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. We’ve witnessed a lot of changes in our society and the world. We’ve become our parents and grandparents. 

Confetti

Therefore, falling asleep on New Year’s Eve might signal advancing age and just plain sleepiness, both of which applied to me Thursday night. But I also consider myself a realist. So, maybe  we can say the following:

A realist doesn’t stay up at all because they know the new year will be waiting in the morning…once again.  

 

 

 

 

Resolution #1 – Positivity

/ Luanne Shernisky / 3 Comments

Negative Positive

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~ Bill Vaughan

With another new year upon us, I’m considering what resolutions I’ll make this time around. It’s easy to fall back on all the old familiar ones:

  • Lose weight
  • Eat more vegetables
  • Cut out sugar
  • Exercise more

However, after giving this some thought, I decided to go a different route.

If you happen to read the news these days you may have noticed how depressing it is. We get a steady diet of violence, crime, poverty, crooked politicians and business people, global warming, etc. I have a tendency to ruminate on the graphic details of gun violence. After the last of many recent mass shootings I had a nightmare; the first one in many years. I wrote a post about it called Scary World, Scary Dreams. 

Happy Sad Faces

It got me thinking about how all this negativity affects our minds and ultimately our moods. During my search on the Internet I found a great article on attn.com called What Negative Thinking Does to Your Brain, written by Kathleen Toohill. It talks about how our brains are wired to have a negativity bias, the effects of negative thinking, and how to shift negative thought patterns. It’s amazing to me that we have the ability to alter the structure of our brains through a process called neuroplasticity. In other words, we can beat the negative bias that evolution programmed into our brains by thinking positive thoughts and participating in positive experiences. Practicing mindfulness, affirmations, meditation, and keeping a gratitude journal are just a few ways to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Happy among SadAs I compose a short list of new year’s resolutions for 2016 I’m going to add “practice positivity.” I can’t change or prevent the bad stuff from happening, but I can limit the negativity and focus more on the positive aspects of life. There are many inspirational stories out there; you just have to work a bit harder to find them!