One Foot In Front of The Other

[mc6844]

I appreciate all the wise sharing and comments. This is a lot harder than I thought. Today I couldn't deal with all the goings on out there. I live in an elder community. Lots of loss. Ambulance in and out of here constantly. Picking people 👆 not bringing them back. Putting one foot in front of the other is a good idea. How does everyone put that into practice? Thank you.

[Tempest332]

"Putting One Foot In Front of The Other"

Is that a catch phrase?  My that was my Grandmothers stock reply when we would ask how she was doing.  

[BeatleloverKT]

I wish I had some sage advice on how I put one foot in front of the other. Sadly I don’t. I know that many days I don’t feel like moving at all. Being retired, I can just give into that. But usually, if I get up and get moving, I generally feel better then if I don’t. I also know my husband would want me to keep going and try to be happy. I also think he would be proud of me for all I’ve accomplished 💜

[EricC28201]

You know, in retrospect, 'get up and get moving' is probably key.  The daily habits:

Taking a shower was kinda like getting the ball rolling.

Taking a daily walk, just for the sake of taking a walk, may not have felt discernibly better, but never felt worse at the end.

Full Disclosure: Only a robot would take a daily walk 100% of the time...there were those 'oh nevermind' days.

[mc6844]

Thank you for sharing. It helps to hear how people are doing.  I'm so sorry for your loss. Take care.

[EricC28201]

Not sure if this will help or not, but it is offered with the most supportive of intentions.

I went through a period when four close family members (one who had literally saved my life) passed away in a five year period.  I, naturally, sought out help and support.  I know the shrinkologists talk about the stages of grief and all that, but it was just one long blur to me.  Day after day of living an exhausted existence just carrying on out of habit and muscle memory.  Two things I still clearly remember are a couple of dreams I had.

The first one, I was shaving and there was this one little piece of stubble that the razor wouldn't remove.  Finally I decided to pluck it out.  When I pulled on it, it just got longer.  In short order I had pulled a Peacock feather out of my chin.  The memory of this rather odd dream stuck with me. So I did a little dream interpretation research and decided that even though I didn't feel any different, I had entered a new stage of the grieving process (to this day I can't say which one).

A few years later I had another strange dream that stuck in my memory.  I was flying with a couple of Dragons...except we were under water, not in the air, but it felt like flying.  They were the good natured, brightly colored Dragons sometimes found in Oriental cultures, not the beastly, malevolent Dragons of European tradition.  One of them suddenly said, "Goodbye", dove and crashed into a jagged rock formation.  My impulse was to go back and try to help, but the dragon that was still with me said, "Don't worry that was intentional", "Lets just keep going and everything will be alright,".  We flew on...through the water.

Within a couple of weeks of the second dream, I started feeling more energetic and my Circadian Rhythm started to stabilize for the first time in years.

I guess the point (other than hopefully being a little entertaining) is hang in there, this too shall pass.  Stay safe and be good to each other.

[mc6844]

Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry for your losses. Take care.

[Anonymous]

1 comment (SUNDAY 3/5/23)

Dear Patricia @patriciah829132 , I am so sorry about your loss of your friend. 😭

I too lost a very dear friend and EVERY day I miss him.

So GLAD you stopped by and WE look forward to seeing you again!!!

Nicole 🤗🤎

[patriciah829132]

I am sorry for your loss, too, Nicole. Thank you so much for your warm, compassionate and welcoming message. ❤️ I have just read the Grief Quotations and they are wonderful. Patricia 

[patriciah829132]

What a comfort to read your post at this particular time. I have just lost another close friend of 30 yrs to cancer. From no symptoms to diagnosis to death occurred in just over 2 months—and we were still texting a week before she died.  She was one of my few kindred spirits who shared my values, joys and problems in life. This is one reason I wanted to connect with a community that understands, as you do, the challenges of keeping our spirits up as we face so much loss. There is another reason which I can share later, along with a helpful strategy I am using to keep myself balanced, especially if I become homebound, which seems very likely soon. I am glad I found this community. Glad to be here.

[mc6844]

I'm so sorry for your losses. Take care.