March 1, 2020 JUST BREATHE

Trying to keep it all in perspective. Live one day at a time. I have a very busy March. Just  trying to keep  focused on the DAY not the WEEK ahead. When I was younger--I would give myself SO much anxiety worrying about ALL THE THINGS I HAD TO DO.  My younger self--was always stressed out and exhausted--worried about the next thing.  My older self--KNOWS it's a waste of time-- but sometimes my mind starts racing and it's REALLY hard to control. I literally have to talk myself DOWN and remind myself to live in the moment. Just stop and BREATHE. Yoga has really helped me learn to manage stress and anxiety. It's helped me take a step back and reevaluate who I want to be. Do I want to be that stressed out person who overthinks and WORRIES about EVERYTHING? Absolutely NOT. We all have busy lives but there are ways to manage AND  deal with feeling overwhelmed. I choose peacefully.

A quiet village on the Thames was forever changed one winter night in Diane Setterfield's new novel Once Upon a River. This lovely story is set in England at and around an ancient Inn called The Swan.  It's the winter solstice and several villagers are settling in for a night of story telling at the Swan, when  an injured man carrying a frozen corpse-like child bursts in. Rita, the nurse, is called in to save the man as the child appears dead. After saving the man, Rita tends to the body of the child who, somehow, comes back to life. The plot of the story focuses on the mystery of the child, a little girl who appears mute.  The child is claimed by three different families who believe she is a missing relative. Don't want to say too much more except that this story is the perfect combination of mystery and magic. The villagers are quirky and as much a part of the story as the girl as they all try to figure out who she is and what family she belongs to. The river, and Inn are also characters in the novel as the prose is outstanding and full of twists and turns. This is one of those books you don't come across often so relish the journey. Again --the writing is superb--Dickensian in many way.  It's about 460 pages or a 7 mile run that you wish were 10. It's also a great way to get through the long month of March. Enjoy.