#UnexpectedLessons

[tmarshconnors]

Sore Throat Reflections

I’m not typically one to get ill. It’s a rare event. I’m the sort who prefers to keep moving, keep talking, keep going. So this sore throat—eight days and counting—has been a strange and rather unwelcome guest. In the first few days, I shrugged it off, figuring it would just go away on its own. But here I am, over a week later, still feeling that scratchy reminder every time I swallow. It’s funny how something so minor can alter the way you experience the world. When you’re not feeling yourself, it seems the world tilts just a bit, forcing you into a new perspective.

Now, I’m not a fan of medicine. I don’t rush to the pharmacy for the latest “quick fix” or attempt to mask discomfort with pills. My approach is more stoic: let the body do its work and get over it in its own time. The idea of trudging to a doctor, only to be handed a prescription for something I don't really trust, isn't appealing. So I’ve been sitting with this sore throat, giving it its space, allowing it to remind me that I’m human and vulnerable to these small inconveniences of life. And oddly, I find that this sore throat has also been nudging me into a quieter, more reflective state.

Typically, I’m articulate and full of words—I’ve got plenty to say about everything from politics to history to the latest Grand Theft Auto game. But pain in the throat has a way of stilling the tongue. It forces me to communicate less and observe more. And there’s something grounding in that, in just sitting back and watching the world turn without constantly throwing my thoughts into the mix.

With this slower rhythm, I’ve even found myself doing things that are foreign to my usual routine. For one, I’ve been turning to the television, something I don’t often have time for. Rather than diving into deep debates or working into the early hours, I’m doing something as mundane as flipping through channels. Watching reruns and films I haven’t touched in ages (hello, Back to the Future Part 2) has actually been a strangely enjoyable diversion. And while I wouldn’t say I’m converted to the couch-potato lifestyle, I can see why people find comfort in zoning out in front of the screen for a bit.

What’s truly shocking is my new bedtime. Normally, I’m still up at 4:00 a.m., chasing thoughts, diving into some project, or just letting the quiet hours carry me. But these days, I’m calling it quits at around 1:30 a.m.—which, by my standards, is practically a senior citizen bedtime. I’m usually the last person to hit the sack, preferring the stillness of night when the world feels like it’s mine alone. Yet here I am, surrendering to the call of sleep earlier than usual, letting my body steer while my mind takes a backseat.

In a way, being forced to slow down has been an unexpected reset. I can’t say I’ll be signing up for another round of sore throat therapy anytime soon, but it’s certainly reminded me that sometimes, silence has its own wisdom. Life doesn’t always need commentary. Sometimes it’s enough to just sit back and let the world do the talking.

[steppingstoneclinicmn]

Dear Brave Ones: Thank you for teaching me that people can find a way to be happy before they have reason to be. Sincerely, Your Psychologist #chosehappy #unexpectedlessons #mentalwellness #SteppingStoneClinicMN #stumblingblockstosteppingstones (photo credits to @reemtsma doing good work in Peru)

[learningathome]

Unexpected Lessons

Sometimes we have very unexpected school lessons.  Munchkin has been on a shark kick.  (She is all over anything ocean really.)  She found a DVD I bought awhile back of Shark Week.  I was planning on researching and watching the DVD before she did.  I knew Myth Busters would be ok (which is what I bought the DVD for on Black Friday).  But the other three...not so sure.  Well, she watched them while I was working in the kitchen.  Those were some very interesting lessons.  For starters, the first two movies weren’t real.  They were completely made up and even had fake facts in them.  But what really gets me is the second movie on the disk was highly graphic.  It showed body parts that had been “bitten off by a shark.”  So...we had a lesson on cinematography.  DD declared the “blood” was red food dye.  She knew this because the movie Soul Surfer used this technique and it looked the same.  (bullet dodged on that one)  I must say Soul Surfer was quite educational.  They actually showed in the extras how they did her lack of arm and all of that stuff.  She declared the “dead people” weren’t really dead because...”how can they be dead when their chest is still going up and down?”  Great observation little one!  She also decided it wasn’t logical or very plausible for a shark to kill people in two different states and then to magically be killed in a third state by a taxidermist.  (Seriously...what are the odds.)  Also she determined, through previous lessons, that sharks only bite people to determine if they are food.  Rarely, if ever, do they bite to actually attack people. In fact, in recent history there has only been one actual known case of a shark actually biting people to bite them.  It was in Egypt I think.  Come to find out there was a resort with shark tours.  The guides carried a pack with...dead fish to entice the sharks to come close.  Guess what...when people visited that area, the sharks were biting the exact spot where the guides carried their packs.  It wasn’t a rogue shark at all.  It was sharks that had been conditioned to expect people to feed them from that pack on their body.

[steppingstoneclinicmn]

Dear Brave Ones: Thank you for teaching me that people can find a way to be happy before they have reason to be. Sincerely, Your Psychologist #chosehappy #unexpectedlessons #mentalwellness #SteppingStoneClinicMN #stumblingblockstosteppingstones