Gratitude Notes and Norovirus
bits and pieces from life, work, & wrapping up #1000wordsofsummer
back on dat 1000 word grind, and loving it! i’ve missed having some semblance of structure to my days – ever since my life as i knew it fell apart a couple months ago, i've thrown all my old routines and rituals to the wind. a fresh start, aye?
on the one hand, i'm *finally* living out my self-employment dreams — friend acting in a play late Sunday night? i'll be there! free wine tasting (read: day drinking) on a Monday afternoon? why the heck not! on the other hand, i've been feeling like a school-kid playing truant from Life. is it really OK for me to wile my days away playing, sleeping, resting, and making? after what feels like six years of non-stop hustle, i'm FINALLY at a place where i can... well, rest. pause. slow down. enjoy life. not take it too seriously; not try to plan or strategize five steps or years ahead. just taking things one day at a time. and it feels… weeeeeird.
one thing i'm learning this season is BALANCE. making sure i don't veer too far off into either deep end. sure, i want to prioritize Rest (because that is something i never got to do, even as a kid), but i also want to keep making progress on the things that matter to me. in this case, that's writing.
#1000wordsofsummer came to an unceremonious end for me, because of one word: Norovirus. if you haven't heard of it, it is the notorious cousin of food poisoning — diarrhea, projectile vomiting, chills, migraines, cramps worse than on your period. i nursed a headache all throughout Sunday, and then puked out my ill-advised guava all over (and around) the toilet bowl…
… the exact same symptoms Shawn exhibited just days before. that was when we discovered this was more than just your run-of-the-mill 'food poisoning': it was the HIGHLY transmissible Norovirus – meaning, it could spread through food, contact, or even bits of feces lying around (ahem!).
i spent the next few days totally bedridden; the excruciating pain in my gut keeping me permanently prone, especially since my period chose then (of all times!) to make her already-irregular appearance. yet, somehow, stubborn ole me still tried my best to crank out words each day – 738 here, 535 there – not quite 1,000, but not quite dropping the ball either.
then the fog of sickness lifted, and i could venture out of my bedroom again... ... ...right into the chaotic embrace of unfinished work.
we had our first in-person (!) client training since the pandemic started coming up at the end of the week. and while i always knew God had a great sense of humor, i didn't think He would create a situation where the only two people tasked with a particular endeavor would ALSO be the same people who lost 14860721850 hours of productivity being crouched over a porcelain bowl. 🤡
NEVERTHELESS, we preserved – me, being hunched over the kitchen table for five hours straight (any other position hurt too much), working out last-minute program details; Shawn, thankfully up & running, packing and counting and preparing all the materials needed for the one-day affair (who knew you needed so much sh*t for 8 hours of training??? it's times like this that i miss being a fully virtual company).
but no, i take that back, because the day was absolutely ✨MAGICAL✨. despite being on Day Five post-Norovirus and Day Three of my period, i was able to slide back into my role of Facilitator like slipping on a second skin. i laughed, i played, i thought on my feet, i threw my notes to the wind — AND we were perfectly on time. 😄
Shawn was an absolute champ, all the materials and placemaking and timekeeping kept to a T. we worked together like clockwork; just like the good old days, pre-Team Tribeless, when it was just me and Shawn and a room full of people here for a good time. and we *showed* them a good time – plus, a little more than they expected.
one of my favorite things to do is talk about Empathy. i can do it all day, every day; my passion shines through like Sun on a cold, cloudy day. the reason? i love it. it changed my life, it helped me heal, it taught me to see things beyond my own twisted, traumatized perspective.
i've always found people so *baffling*. why can't anyone just say what they mean?! why do they do what they do? do they hate me? do they even care? Empathy taught me that there are more ways to look at the world than my own. it taught me to pause, slow down, and LISTEN – really listen, to the things implied and unsaid. where have they been? what have they done? what brought them here, and where do they wanna go next? we think that Empathy is putting yourself into someone else's shoes, but that simply isn't possible. how can we throw away all our beliefs, all our biases, all our unique ways of looking at the world – and just ‘take on’ someone else's view?
a more empowering way of looking at it is to think of Empathy as learning to WALK with someone, side by side. learning to talk to them. to ask them questions: "how're your feet doing today? how's the journey treating you? any bumps on the road?". and letting them get curious about your shoes, your feet, your journey, as well! because Empathy is a two-way street, and that's all we can ever really do: show each other that we care, and that we’re not alone. 🤍
the most magical moment of the training happened right at the end, when i tried out a variation of a gratitude exercise (that i conceived while high on pain meds 🤣) called Gratitude (Post-It) Notes. "this last game is about Superheroes," i said, and i could see the looks of confusion and curiosity on their faces. "... you." then i turned to face the side, and with a theatrical flourish, Shawn taped a Mahjong paper to my back. a makeshift cape — soon to be filled with words of affirmation.
"we are all Everyday Superheroes. we are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, leaders, colleagues. but how often do we actually receive appreciation for the things we do? right now, we have the opportunity to express it to each other… through this activity called Gratitude (Post-It) Notes! ha ha, geddit?" no one laughed, but it didn’t matter. the room was buzzing with excitement as everyone donned their 'capes' and helped others with theirs. people actually got it!!!! and they were open to it, in a corporate setting!!!! there was hope for Humanity after all 🥲
watching everyone chase each other around the room, filling their Post-It Notes with words of gratitude and admiration, their brows furrowed in concentration; that ‘pat on the back’ which meant someone was leaving a note on your cape... it was a sight to behold. 🥹 what a gift, what a privilege... to be able to do this for a living. to be able to spread the Empathy gospel, bring people together, and give them to space to express. to laugh, to play, to cry, to connect. what more can i ask for?
in that moment, it didn't matter what was going on in my personal or professional life. so many things were up in the air, but there was one thing i knew for sure: there is no greater gift than the gift of Empathy. and i'm so glad i get to share that with people, one conversation and organization at a time. 💓
i started out this post not really knowing where it was going to go, but i guess it all played out exactly as i knew it would: a harebrained recap of the past few weeks, so i can put it all behind me, and start again. yesterday was the June solstice, the longest day in the year in the Northern Hemisphere. i took a nice, long walk; cooked myself nourishing meals; and participated in a Deep Rest Solstice Workshop.
Cancer season is upon us, and my Cancer Rising ass is both excited and nervous: what will this month bring? lots of Rest, lots of Growth — and learning that both those things can exist at the same time.
thanks for being here, my friends 🌻