Sending you calming thoughts! I recently had my second colonoscopy. For what it's worth, the prep went much easier this time around. I hope you can say the same. It will be Friday before you know it and your system will be relishing the absence of this extra stress. ❣️
I think the Red Tailed Hawk said it best . Most of us humans , even when going in for preventative screenings are always apprehensive of the results.
We stop our busy life for a moment, and worry the what ifs. Then when we read the word negative, thankful, we take a deep breath, forget all about it, and go about life again.The only bad news , the waiting never changes .
I’ve had an extra anxious week, as you know, but somehow I reached a point where I knew everything was going to be okay. One individual in our community sent out panicky emails suggesting we were about to loose everything and die in the process because of the wildfires. I suggested to several friends that he might benefit from an emotional enema, which might also calm other nerves he frayed.
It seems there is often an invisible turning point when the anxiety ebbs away and is replaced by calm assurance.
Here's what I know for sure: You (and I) will continue to learn how to be with what is- anxiety and scattered attention; calm focus, inner stillness and joy etc. AND even if nothing changes- if we continue to have all of these things (particularly the scattered attention and anxiety) arise it's okay. Truly. We are not broken. We are not malfunctioning. We are deeply loveable, somewhat mysterious human beings. I know this for sure about you- and when you share a piece like this it reminds me that it is also true for me. Thank you!
I love your posts. They're like a mini-vacation into beauty and serenity, and what and how you share is insightful, candid, and sometimes humourous too. All so appreciated, Karen! Thank you
Karen, I love three things about your posts, and this one is no exception:
1. The fantastic photos of creatures and scenes in your part of the natural world. Always fun and joyful!
2. How you always find a way to relate what you're seeing/experiencing/photographing in the natural world to what you're experiencing in your own life -- your struggles, your successes, your hopes.
3. Your honesty in describing what you struggle with, and what you're thinking/feeling from week to week. It's so real and intimate, and so relatable.
Thank you for EVERYthing!
(And may tomorrow fly by as you prep for Tuesday. At least the pipes are getting nice and cleaned out! haha!)
I know your intent is to write about your mind and how to remain calm. But I want to comment that I am proud of you for getting a colonoscopy and writing about that too. My husband learned the hard way it is not good to shun doing it. I urged him for years to get his lst colonoscopy. He said, but I have no symptoms. Like he knew better more than Doctors, colon cancer doesn't necessarily come with indications something is wrong. Finally at age 63 got it done and had Stage 3 colon cancer. That was back in 2017. He is cancer free, but he went thru a lot. So, learn from him, folks. Take advantage of technology. Colon cancer screening is available and works, unlike other cancers that are more evasive, hard to detect. I do agree with you that prepping for the colonoscopy is the "worst" part. No one likes that. The procedure is painless. I wish more people that are scared of it would realize it doesn't hurt. And that they will be so glad they had it done. Amen, thanks for listening/ reading, folks. Public Service Announcement here :) This is my lst time reading your substack and I enjoyed it, thanks!
Thank you Jean, and welcome! I'm glad your husband is cancer free, that must have been a lot for both of you to go through. My grandfather died of colon cancer and my mom had lots of polyps, so I am definitely grateful for this life saving technology.
Ah yes, you see the importance of the procedure. Best wishes for you to sail thru it and the results are negative. My last one was the only one they found a polyp, and it was precancerous, way up by appendix. That made me very glad I chose to go thru it and not put it off during the time of COVID.
Karen, you are such a blessing. It is so refreshing to read your posts. Whatever is happening you have a way of picturing the feeling and connecting them to real life. Peace regarding the procedure.
I hope your procedure goes ok. The prep is definitely the worst. I've just been through it with my Mum. Next time you write to us it will be done. This too will pass xx
My mind has been jumpy lately, too. Even as I read your post, it was jumping around. But I made myself watch the full video of the calming water, in its entirety, at the end, and my, how grounding it was. Smart way to end the essay, both for your own jumpy mind, and for your readers'!
Aside from your telling us about it, your jumpy mind is not evident in this beautiful post. From that glorious opening sunrise to the soothing sunlight on the water video, it is all so good! As to birds of prey not being comfortable when being observed, any of us might feel like moving away if we became aware of a hawk or owl staring at us. Knowing how keen their eyesight is, I am always a little envious of them.
Look lower in the post where she is speaking of Mug Wort.
And, according to another substacker, we are in Virgo and tidying-up and putting things in order is the name of the game just now! Perhaps that even includes the timing of your colonoscopy.
This may not work for you, but sometimes I tell myself to go away! It actually works at least for a little while. I can settle down to a read or some other task and feel like I have taken the foot off the gas. Sending you beautiful clouds of rest and love this week.
Yes, I had a colonoscopy in January…had to find a doctor (referred from PCP)….and that got me started being nervous and spinning…(and prep is the worst part)….once I got there I was calm…and good results 👍. Hope the same for you….when I get nervous like that I have opposite symptoms…I freeze..mind numb…wish I was active like you so at least something gets done….love your pictures of the hawks faces❤️❤️😍😍👍👍🙏🙏 I’m confident Tuesday will go fine for you😊
Thanks for the calming water video. I can feel that same way going through a challenge with a 'don't make me show you my talons!' in the back of my mind ;-) Beautiful photos, as always, Karen. Thank you
Karen ~ you been watching me~ I feel I could have written this~I am relieved I am not alone~ “For now, I can only focus on trying to accept my imperfections. Accepting my anxious mind, accepting the best I can do today is good enough, accepting that being human means not being calm and collected all the time. “ thank you I am sitting here crying~ life can be so hard~my Jewish friends are hurting ~my black friends are hurting ~my gays friends are hurting ~there is so much hate out there-thank you so much~ thank you❤️
Sending you calming thoughts! I recently had my second colonoscopy. For what it's worth, the prep went much easier this time around. I hope you can say the same. It will be Friday before you know it and your system will be relishing the absence of this extra stress. ❣️
Thank you Sue!
Blessings for tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you. <3
Thank you Susi!
I think the Red Tailed Hawk said it best . Most of us humans , even when going in for preventative screenings are always apprehensive of the results.
We stop our busy life for a moment, and worry the what ifs. Then when we read the word negative, thankful, we take a deep breath, forget all about it, and go about life again.The only bad news , the waiting never changes .
Good thoughts are being sent your way.
That's so true - thank you Lor!
I’ve had an extra anxious week, as you know, but somehow I reached a point where I knew everything was going to be okay. One individual in our community sent out panicky emails suggesting we were about to loose everything and die in the process because of the wildfires. I suggested to several friends that he might benefit from an emotional enema, which might also calm other nerves he frayed.
It seems there is often an invisible turning point when the anxiety ebbs away and is replaced by calm assurance.
I have experienced that turning point before - I'm glad you are experiencing it now!
We can always count on it.
Here's what I know for sure: You (and I) will continue to learn how to be with what is- anxiety and scattered attention; calm focus, inner stillness and joy etc. AND even if nothing changes- if we continue to have all of these things (particularly the scattered attention and anxiety) arise it's okay. Truly. We are not broken. We are not malfunctioning. We are deeply loveable, somewhat mysterious human beings. I know this for sure about you- and when you share a piece like this it reminds me that it is also true for me. Thank you!
what a beautiful comment. Truth.
That perfectly describes everything Oriah writes - beautiful and truth!
I love you so much Oriah. Thank you for this note. We are - and I know it for sure about you too!
I love your posts. They're like a mini-vacation into beauty and serenity, and what and how you share is insightful, candid, and sometimes humourous too. All so appreciated, Karen! Thank you
Thank you Monica!
Karen, I love three things about your posts, and this one is no exception:
1. The fantastic photos of creatures and scenes in your part of the natural world. Always fun and joyful!
2. How you always find a way to relate what you're seeing/experiencing/photographing in the natural world to what you're experiencing in your own life -- your struggles, your successes, your hopes.
3. Your honesty in describing what you struggle with, and what you're thinking/feeling from week to week. It's so real and intimate, and so relatable.
Thank you for EVERYthing!
(And may tomorrow fly by as you prep for Tuesday. At least the pipes are getting nice and cleaned out! haha!)
Thank you so much Jeanne! It means so much.
I know your intent is to write about your mind and how to remain calm. But I want to comment that I am proud of you for getting a colonoscopy and writing about that too. My husband learned the hard way it is not good to shun doing it. I urged him for years to get his lst colonoscopy. He said, but I have no symptoms. Like he knew better more than Doctors, colon cancer doesn't necessarily come with indications something is wrong. Finally at age 63 got it done and had Stage 3 colon cancer. That was back in 2017. He is cancer free, but he went thru a lot. So, learn from him, folks. Take advantage of technology. Colon cancer screening is available and works, unlike other cancers that are more evasive, hard to detect. I do agree with you that prepping for the colonoscopy is the "worst" part. No one likes that. The procedure is painless. I wish more people that are scared of it would realize it doesn't hurt. And that they will be so glad they had it done. Amen, thanks for listening/ reading, folks. Public Service Announcement here :) This is my lst time reading your substack and I enjoyed it, thanks!
Thank you Jean, and welcome! I'm glad your husband is cancer free, that must have been a lot for both of you to go through. My grandfather died of colon cancer and my mom had lots of polyps, so I am definitely grateful for this life saving technology.
Ah yes, you see the importance of the procedure. Best wishes for you to sail thru it and the results are negative. My last one was the only one they found a polyp, and it was precancerous, way up by appendix. That made me very glad I chose to go thru it and not put it off during the time of COVID.
Karen, you are such a blessing. It is so refreshing to read your posts. Whatever is happening you have a way of picturing the feeling and connecting them to real life. Peace regarding the procedure.
Thank you so much Uncle Bill! I guess when I called it "Life in the Real World" I meant more than the birds.
I hope your procedure goes ok. The prep is definitely the worst. I've just been through it with my Mum. Next time you write to us it will be done. This too will pass xx
Thank you Cali! Yes it will.
My mind has been jumpy lately, too. Even as I read your post, it was jumping around. But I made myself watch the full video of the calming water, in its entirety, at the end, and my, how grounding it was. Smart way to end the essay, both for your own jumpy mind, and for your readers'!
Thank you Rebecca! That's actually why I included it, so I'm glad it was received well!
Aside from your telling us about it, your jumpy mind is not evident in this beautiful post. From that glorious opening sunrise to the soothing sunlight on the water video, it is all so good! As to birds of prey not being comfortable when being observed, any of us might feel like moving away if we became aware of a hawk or owl staring at us. Knowing how keen their eyesight is, I am always a little envious of them.
I happened to come across another substacker talking about her mind churning in circles and what she has learned of herbs that helps. Here's the link: https://open.substack.com/pub/leeniehobbie/p/folk-herbalists-journal-880?r=2l04ge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Look lower in the post where she is speaking of Mug Wort.
And, according to another substacker, we are in Virgo and tidying-up and putting things in order is the name of the game just now! Perhaps that even includes the timing of your colonoscopy.
This may not work for you, but sometimes I tell myself to go away! It actually works at least for a little while. I can settle down to a read or some other task and feel like I have taken the foot off the gas. Sending you beautiful clouds of rest and love this week.
Thank you Sandy, and I will check out the link!
Thank you for this lovely share. I can relate to an anxious mind. As I read it, your self-awareness and self-compassion are beautiful.
Thank you Patricia!
Yes, I had a colonoscopy in January…had to find a doctor (referred from PCP)….and that got me started being nervous and spinning…(and prep is the worst part)….once I got there I was calm…and good results 👍. Hope the same for you….when I get nervous like that I have opposite symptoms…I freeze..mind numb…wish I was active like you so at least something gets done….love your pictures of the hawks faces❤️❤️😍😍👍👍🙏🙏 I’m confident Tuesday will go fine for you😊
Thanks Sharon! that's really what I'm expecting. I'm not sure any of the symptoms are better than the others...trust me on this!
Thanks for the calming water video. I can feel that same way going through a challenge with a 'don't make me show you my talons!' in the back of my mind ;-) Beautiful photos, as always, Karen. Thank you
Thank you Victoria
Karen ~ you been watching me~ I feel I could have written this~I am relieved I am not alone~ “For now, I can only focus on trying to accept my imperfections. Accepting my anxious mind, accepting the best I can do today is good enough, accepting that being human means not being calm and collected all the time. “ thank you I am sitting here crying~ life can be so hard~my Jewish friends are hurting ~my black friends are hurting ~my gays friends are hurting ~there is so much hate out there-thank you so much~ thank you❤️
Thank you Catherine. Common humanity is the part of self-compassion I most need to remember. Love you.