Sunday Journal Prompt

“Unplug to recharge.” 

– Susan C. Young 

Are you managing your energy well and using it for things that matter? Do you stop to recharge before you push yourself to critically low levels? These are questions asked by author and speaker Susan C. Young, a change expert who encourages us to recharge by unplugging ourselves from the world.

Mobile chargers or car cords may power up our low-battery phones, but unplugging ourselves is the secret to recharging our minds and bodies. In Health Forensics, author Steven Magee compares the human mind and body to a single-cell battery charged from the atmospheric DC voltage and the Earth.

When has unplugging in nature recharged you?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” 

– Thich Nhat Hanh 

A street sign next to a seaside path in Laguna Beach, California signals us to “Breathe.” Though we wouldn’t exist without breathing, the quality of our breath matters. It becomes shallow when we are frightened or anxious and deepens with relaxation and sleep. While we can’t always control what comes at us in life, we can exercise control over our breath.

In my experience, consciously slowing down my breath during times of distress is the key to slowing down my heart rate and, I suspect, the rate at which cortisol races through my body. In The Voice of the Body, Dr. Alexander Lowen shares that in Asian and mystic philosophies, the breath holds the secret to the highest bliss—the reason why breathing is the dominant factor in the practice of yoga. 

How can you remind yourself to breathe deeply during distress?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

 – Joan Didion 

February was a rough month for me. Although I fulfilled many responsibilities, they took so much more effort than usual—and left me wiped out physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Writing an email to my best friend about my month was an important step in gaining a better understanding of what’s been draining me. I started writing about an emotionally taxing situation, but then other seemingly unconnected material showed up on screen—helping me understand that more was weighing on me than I’d realized.

A bonus is that my writing led to a cross-country phone conversation with Chels that not only helped clarify why I’d felt the way I did, but also solidified our bond since she shared her own struggle about an eerily similar situation. Together, we discussed ideas on how we can both move forward. Since writing about my situation and chatting with her, I feel my malaise lifting.

Write an email or letter to someone else to gain insight about yourself.