Yip, those were the words of my maternal grandfather. He hated convention, was a recluse and all-round curmudgeon. If you have ever read “A man called Ove” by Frederik Backman you will understand. Ove is described as “… “staunch principled, strict routine, and short fused.”
My grandmother loved diets, this used to really irritate my grandfather, hence his saying. While writing this second lockdown blog I remembered his words. Not sure why exactly but it may have something to do with today’s mindfulness theme.
As a child I spent almost all school holidays on their farm in the Drakensberg. I loved it there. It was a place of great beauty and mystery. My granny spent most days cooking and baking while my grandfather farmed. He was a serious farmer with a magnificent horse, Stetson hat, English moustache and a gun. My granny couldn’t stop talking while my grandfather was a man of few words. His main communication style can probably be described as mostly non-verbal (glaring) with a smidgeon of grunting which could mean anything from “Thank You”, “Please pass the butter”, to “I love you and really miss you if you don’t visit us. Please keep writing to us once you are at home.”
Although beautiful on the farm there were two rather juicy worms in the apple. Firstly, the farm was very isolated and trips to town were reserved for one Friday or Saturday a month. This was not always possible, especially, during the rainy season or winter months when snow fell, making the passes leading out of the farm impassable. During those days my grandparents’ telephone line was shared, meaning everyone on the same line could “listen in” (as did Aunty Kritzenger with the geese – always gave her away) and with the slightest whiff of a storm the line would break leaving you even more isolated. The second worm was the spectacular fights my grandparents would have. During these fights my grandparents would sound like the chorus of “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana.
Listen to it here
It would sometimes last for a week and then, suddenly, all would be ok again. I could never understand these fights. To me the perfect place in the world was the farm. The fighting simply did not make sense.
Since, I have realised that life’s curve balls such as isolation, cabin fever, stress, depression etc all have an influence on us, regardless of how idyllic we, or others, may think our worlds to be. If we are not careful these curve balls may snowball creating a sense of being overwhelmed by them. One of the best ways to cope with these curve balls is by actively practicing mindfulness skills, and one of the best tools to use is journaling. If you’ve read our first lockdown blog you will know that we suggested journaling as a tool to assist with mental health. The focus in the first blog was on the cultivation of stillness. This fits perfectly with today’s blog focusing on mindfulness
Please read some of our other, older blogs :Mindful Eating, Putting the health back in mental health,Positive-Psychology DIY, where we’ve discussed mindfulness in greater detail. For now, carry on journaling and use the following two articles as some guide in your current lockdown journaling process.