Sunday Journal Prompt

“A library is a place of safety, a haven from the world.” 

– Neil Gaiman 

This week my son and I needed to complete an errand in a town an hour away from home. Upon our arrival, a rottweiler named Rambo barked at and chased Alex in the parking lot beside a truck with the license plate “Monster.” Later the store owner insulted me. Though he quickly apologized, a simple task had turned into a stressful afternoon.

Fortunately, we found a haven. While walking around the town, we discovered a small but beautiful library with a window-seat reading nook that helped restore our sense of peace and equilibrium. Even when I look at the photo, I find myself breathing more deeply.

What’s a haven in your life from daily stressors?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.”

– Lou Holtz 

We can ease the burden of extreme weather by being prepared for it: wearing a shade hat and sunglasses, a raincoat and umbrella, or a parka and snow boots. While we can’t check a weather app to see what unexpected stressors await us each day, we can prepare for them in other ways.

Feeling physically and emotionally strong enables us to better bear stress—to carry the load with more ease. In my case, journaling, exercise, healthy eating, meditation, rest, reasonable expectations of myself and others, and a manageable schedule help me to be less reactive to life’s dramas.

When I don’t take care of myself, I become reactive, passive-aggressive or defensive and then later regretful. That’s not the way I want to show up in my life, so it helps to remind myself often that I know how to ease the load I carry.

How can you ease the load you carry?