Emily's Affirmations: A Valentine's Day Gift to Yourself — by Emily Rose BarrThe invitation from a friend was simple: take a picture each day of something that brings you joy. The intention was harder: bring a little light into a year of profound tumult and isolation. In the summer of 2020, I, like many was starting to feel the unraveling of time—my calendar no longer punctuated by social gatherings and grocery shopping, casual exchanges and well-worn routines. The unscheduled hours I’d previously longed for were being delivered in bundles and heaps and had begun to feel alarming and disorienting. Absent of the markers I habitually relied on, Wednesday could now be Monday, Thursday was Blursday, and weekends were as strangely solitary as the rest of the week.
Of course there were perks – getting outside more was a welcome prescription, and the stillness that surrounded me offered an opportunity to silence mental chatter and amplify the senses. But there was also a restlessness that yearned for a return to the pre-pandemic normal. I’d learned many ways to approach ambiguity and find resolve in uncertainty, but none seemed sufficient to respond to the collapse of the familiar life I’d taken for granted. Except for one.
https://www.dailygood.org/story/2686/em ... y-rose-bar