Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Find the Good

It can be incredibly easy to look back at the past year and lament the things we’ve missed, the people we haven’t seen, the things we haven’t done. I was recently walloped by the realization that this time a year ago, we were planning a weekend getaway with another couple, to just get out of town and have a change of scenery. Then the pandemic began, and all bets were off. There were so many things that didn’t happen, and sometimes it’s difficult to focus on anything other than what we’ve missed and lost.

I like, very much, the occasional things I’ve seen on social media or heard in virtual meetings, asking for at least one positive thing that has come out of the challenges over the past year.

Oddly enough, my answer from the first time hasn’t changed, and even though we are in the dead of winter and it is bitterly, horribly cold, thinking of this still makes me happy.

I spent more time both working in and enjoying my gardens in 2020 than I had in quite a few years previous, and that felt fantastic. It was good exercise, it felt great to be outside, and I reaped the benefits in so many ways. Gardening provides beauty, food for wildlife, food for us, and a tremendous sense of peace as well as accomplishment. As I look at the snow and shiver, I think of all the wonderful things that are sleeping under the soil, waiting for the thaw and sunshine of spring. Even the mowing, and the weeding, and the chasing-away-of-pests doesn’t diminish the pleasure I feel looking back at last year, or the eager anticipation I feel looking forward to this year’s gardening season.

Also, I have bean plants. LOL!! I started a project with a friend’s kids; we each have a setup and we planted and are watching bean plants grow. I think the kiddos are enjoying it, and I know I am. The bean plants give me hope, and that’s a good thing.

Another thing I realized recently is that I’ve maintained my intentional cross stitching streak, and I’ve gone past 1,200 days of consecutively cross stitching. I also passed a year of intentionally crocheting daily. These feed my creative side and I love spending time on them each day!

What’s your good? What’s your moment of realization that there have been good things over the past year?

Take a deep breath, and focus on that feeling. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

There! There it is. That moment of peace, and joy, or bliss, or whatever suits you to call it. That’s a good thing.

Cheers! Here’s to your health!