Sit back, relax and drift off into another world
Need to get away?
In times like these, when all the outside noise can be enough to overwhelm our brains and deplete our senses, we find ourselves forced to create getaways within our own four walls. And the cheapest way to do this? Watch movies.
If you don’t know what to watch, here are some of the movies that inspire me, make me feel better, and make me think without weighing me down.
So, turn off the noise. Sit down with a cup of coffee and your favorite chocolate treat. …
The tools you need to officially enter adulthood and to get your parents off your back
I wake up in a cold sweat. It’s 2 a.m. My son moved out the day before and I suddenly realize I failed him.
He’s settling down in his new place without me having shown him how to replace the vacuum cleaner bag.
Am I being overprotective? Maybe but I’ve seen what happens when someone vacuums without both a bag and a cover. The dust shoots out of the vacuum and into the room like confetti out of a canon. (And the person — who shall remain nameless, just kept cleaning and didn’t even notice.)
Which made me think. What…
And I just learned that 2 billion people are excited for me
It’s that time of year again when I get to celebrate the fact that I was born and that I’m still around. This time I’ll be 59.
I wish I could skip 59 and go straight to 60.
What makes turning 60 so alluring?
I’ve never been big on celebrating big, so that’s not it. It’s more of an inner celebration of reaching this stage in my life.
As I’m approaching 60 I’m learning to take deeper breaths and to exhale fully. Up until now, I’ve been taking in just enough oxygen to keep myself upright.
Before I lived in…
Because things aren’t always what they seem
Are there times you wish you were less judgemental? When the judge and jury inside your mind take over before you even get a chance to think things through?
As life experiences begin to repeat themselves, too often we automatically take shortcuts by pairing up new experiences with old, familiar ones.
Before we know it, we compartmentalize data at an astonishing speed. And in the process, we might become a tad jaded, and close-minded.
But there’s an exercise that will prevent this from happening. …
It’s all about authenticity, timing, and preparedness
OK, I’m just going to blurt it out. Positive thinking is overrated. Not because it’s ineffective but because it’s overused.
Even though I admire the can-do attitude of those who use it religiously, I can’t help but wonder if the time has come to reevaluate how we use the concept.
Because too often positive thinking is used, not as an addition to, but as a substitute for genuine confidence derived from true knowledge and experience.
And way too many positive glittery statements lack a foundation. They are ideas without a base — built on hope alone. Think positive and go…
Dear Medium writer, please tone it down a tad with the grandiose self-promotion
Lately I‘ve noticed a Medium trend. People seem to have a need to let the rest of the world know how they feel about themselves. And many feel pretty good, it seems.
“I‘m gorgeous”.
“I’m an award-winning writer”
“I’m a successful [fill in the blank]”
Excuse me while I roll my eyes and sigh. Three different stories from three different writers, on one home page, all in one day, is just a bit much.
I realize there’s plenty of competition out there and that we’re all trying to be seen and read but some of you go about it in…
I’m really sorry about #2 and #7.
Our 38th wedding anniversary is approaching.
So what do I give a man I’ve been married to long enough to know he has everything he needs? Apologies. That’s what.
1. I’m sorry for the time I brought two cats home. One was cute. The other turned out to be the cat from hell. The latter is still with us fourteen years later and she has no plans of leaving. Ever. Her screams will echo through the canyon long after we’ve left this area and maybe even this earth.
2. I’m sorry for the time I held a garage sale while…
And the #1 most painful aspect of parental divorce is fully preventable
They met, fell in love and there you were. A bystander looking in at that thing called marriage. Maybe your parents got along at first. Maybe it seems as if they always did and the announcement came as a shock to you.
Either way, from the day they told you, life as you knew it would never be the same.
After reading more than 100 studies, 10 books, numerous articles, and writing a master’s thesis on the subject of adults looking back at parental divorce, I’ve come to the scientific conclusion that divorce sucks but that it would suck less…
Why spring cleaning is emotionally draining
Today I cleaned the study. Before being a study it belonged to my son. Which explains why it took so long. Memories are made to stop the world. If only for a little while.
Hidden behind the stacks of paper were some of my son’s poetry assignments. A few of his drawings were there as well. But not enough. He hated art and threw most of his projects in the trash before I got a chance to save them.
Once he gave me a Christmas ornament. It was a photo of him in a candy cane frame. …
What to do when you still love the one who hates
She was the semi-closeted bigot who used to speak in a not so secret code. Until the world became more polarized, broadening the stage for racists everywhere.
Then she found the courage to voice her opinion without the aid of alcohol. And get-togethers would never be the same.
In a 2019 study on race relations more than two-thirds of the 6,637 surveyed believed it was “more common to express racist views since Trump became president”. There’s strength in numbers. And it seems Grandma is trying to recruit.
Speaking up against racism is vital. But it’s one thing to scream at…
Anna I. Smith
M.S. Psychology| I write about life, relationships, things that make me laugh, cry, or all of the above in one piece. Reach me at annaismithwrites@gmail.com
