Time to reflect, breathe, and appreciate the little things

I honestly can’t believe it’s been a whole week. It feels almost like a lifetime.

But it’s only been a few days. Anyone else on the same page as me?

This week I’ve tried to refocus, and stay focused. Things needed to be done, urgent things. Work moved fast, decisions were made, and plans were followed. It felt like we condensed dozens of weeks into just a day or two. Every day.

This week, I tried to hard to get our message out there. People need help, and we are here to help them. But just like everyone else’s life, ours changed abruptly, and swiftly, and it was hard to keep up.

I want to say, though, that I am so proud of everyone I work with. Our entire organization made enormous adaptations in what seemed like a matter of hours. And we are still here for our community, because we can’t just turn off the lights and go home. (For those of you who don’t know, I work at Peak Wellness Center, a community mental health nonprofit organization.)

I know a lot of eyes are on our doctors, nurses, medical providers and hospitals right now. Mental health providers may not be fighting the same battles, but we are definitely feeling the hurt, the tug of grief, anxiety and depression, alongside everyone right now. It’s heartbreaking to see so many struggling.

And so all week I’ve been trying to hard to let our communities know what’s going on, what’s changing, what’s available, how we can help … I felt the urgency to get this information out in a way I’ve never felt it before. And I feel so grateful that I am able to help out in this crisis — even though it may not be directly — by connecting people to the services they need.

I was tired on Friday, but it was a good tired.

This week, I managed to re-focus my training, trying to find a new schedule with some balance in it. I settled on TrainerRoad four days a week, Les Mills On Demand once or twice a week, and my usual rest days (Monday, Friday).

I got out and walked the dogs a little more, including a late-night off-leash adventure with them late Friday night as the snow was falling. It was so beautiful. The snow had that cotton candy look, and it was quiet, dark and luminous in a way that only snow can bring.

A little bit of magic.

I have come so far since those early days of dragging myself to the gym trying to lose weight and be healthier because I neglected it for so long. Even though my gym classes are on hold, I get to inspire others who are on that same journey as I once was. I get to share my gains, my progress, my accomplishments with others and set an example, show some proof that you can do it — you just gotta keep going!

How amazing is that?

I’m going to end on this note, because this has been my re-focus for the week.

This week, I have helped a lot. This week, I have decided not to quit. This week, I didn’t allow the weight of the world to pull me down.

It’s never easy. But we have each other, and that’s what matters.