Keeping Our Spirits Up in a "Greige" World!

Hello all,

I do not know what has struck me suddenly... I can barely stay awake. It's been a strange afternoon - some focused, earnest work. And then a series of typos in a simple receipt form that had to be redone a couple of times. A double-booked slot in an otherwise empty day... I rarely make careless mistakes. And knowing that I didn't "see" these is bothering me. "Brain fog" fills me with dread and fear (my 97 year-old grand-mother was clear-headed until the very last days of her life. She refused pain medication so that she could stay alert. She kept her neural pathways alight with travel and literature and news stories and philosophical discussions... she instilled in me this idea that one had to learn something new every day (!) to be sharp and that fuzzy thoughts were a worse fate than dying. She would not have approved of my bungling emails!)

I'm only somewhat reassured by the fact that it's a recognized consequence of this prolonged year of flight & fight reflexes as we pivot from the pivots! This CBC article explains it well and offers tips!

Fortunately, the right help comes at the right time... and today, I have Mark to thank for the suggestion he sent in for discussion. He wrote this:

just a forum suggestion
“ How to keep our spirits up ?”
If each of all involved in forum gave a little coping tip
might be fun
a change up

His message gave me pause. What am I doing to cope? Am I coping?!! 😳 Where am I finding joy? Am I finding joy?! 🙀 Am I on the right track?... I did start beading this week (which could explain my eyesight regressing suddenly!) I've found it soothing to feel the texture of beads and backing as colours come together to form shapes. I'm sewing all the love I can into a badge I'll give to my daughter when she moves into her new home in two weeks.

I've also started my own photo collection; I was recently amused by a colleague who coined the word "greige" - to describe the frightening combination of grey and beige... So on my walks, I've challenged myself to capture the many shades of a Winnipeg spring greige... This screenshot of a few shots might explain my desperate craving for colour!
 

This city can be so ugly. And I don't say it out loud too often because Winnipeggers can be an unforgiving lot when you suggest this city might be underwhelming in any way. But I felt I needed to document this greige, as a statement of where I am today.

Surprisingly, I did take great pleasure in this walk. I suppose that shape and design suddenly take on greater importance without the distraction of colour. There is always beauty, I suppose, in even the most greige of weathered bark.

 

xo Nat