Here’s an article about “Managing Your Wellbeing During Turbulent Times.”

Oh, let’s see. I’d say making enough ebook sales on multiple platforms to make the NY Times bestseller list, only to have them completely disappear after I refused to become exclusive to Amazon, then wear myself the fuck out trying to get the message out to anyone who might listen to how insane the indie author movement has become. Well, that’s been somewhat stressful. Yes.

On top of which, my dystonia treatments aren’t working. And I have to wait three months between treatments, so that hasn’t exactly been a bed of roses for me.

But let me save you some time and quote the most interesting parts of the article:

We spend about a third of our waking lives across various internet-powered devices. Our global internet consumption hit five billion users in April of 2022, almost two-thirds of the world’s population. Of this number, four billion seven hundred thousand were social media users, spending an average of 147 minutes daily on their devices. That is a lot of information consumed throughout the day, and the type of content directly impacts you.

Think about your people consumption as well. Who is around you? To what kind of conversations are you exposing yourself? How often do you allow the peace of a moment to be overtaken by someone else’s drama? If you are sitting in a restaurant overhearing someone at a table complaining endlessly, do you move to another table?

And here’s more:

[E]very facet of life shapes your thoughts. The news media you take in, the content of the films and television you watch, the books you read, the types of conversations you allow yourself to engage in, everything you absorb, and how much of it, matters a lot. The list just mentioned creates your environment and informs your beliefs. The brain changes through our experiences. How you mind your outer world will influence how you care for your inner world and vice-versa. Both influence what the Buddha, Gandhi, and the Bible refer to in their wisdom about creating a Happier life—the how and where you focus your thoughts matters.

Buddha: “Our thoughts shape us; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”

Gandhi: “Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV): “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

All this to say is during turbulent times like this, we all need to be mindful of our own wellbeing – that, as they say on an airplane, put on our oxygen mask first. We do this so we can show up for others in a better and more productive way.

Very nice! Not exactly earthshaking, but hey whatever gets you through the utter bullshit of modern life. 🙂

Here’s something I saw tonight on a web presentation given by the woman who wrote this book.

You better believe this sucker’s on my TBR list!

You would not believe the horrifying shit going on when you use social media. I’m ready to leave Facebook tomorrow. Except that I have genuine connections there. I may have to twist a few arms (nicely) ro convince them to get the fuck off that freaking data-collecting, ad-targeting, psychological mind-fucking platform.

PS: If one more actor uses the line “Are you having a stroke?” in response to behavior that bears absolutely NO fucking resemblance to a stroke, I may have to cancel my Netflix subscription. Or maybe just stop watching stupid shows on TV.

Yeah, speaking of wanting to avoid drama. Or comedy that’s anything but funny.

PS: You can tell I’m mindful as fuck! Can’t you? 🙂

Here’s my list:

1. Avoid stupid assholes;
2. Do not engage with rando haters;
3. Stop giving a damn what people think of your choices;
4. Do what makes you happy.