Publisher - August 2024

Photography by
Cassidy Dunn Photography

“Every morning, in your first
view of the day, you have the choice to say, 'Good morning, God' or 'Good God, morning.”
— Wayne Dyer —

Right about now, I think most of us are in “Good God, morning” mode and with good reason. Life is heavy. Damn heavy. It feels like everything has changed, even the mundane, everyday chores have a different protocol. Truth is now a rarity, and checking out your own groceries is the norm. So in a world where mental comfort has become more difficult to find, what can we do to still put a smile on our faces and contentment in our hearts?

The answer is lighten up! We all need to, including our children. They pick up on our cues of uneasiness, sadness, despair, and anxiety. So do our pets. The only side effect to lightening up is, well, feeling lighter. Come on! It’s the last hoorah of summertime—you deserve a moment to be happy and carefree, but you’re going to have to work for it. You have to decide you have had enough heaviness and purposely move toward the lighter side of life.

Here are a few ideas to get you going:

Make a playlist: Music sets the tone for everything and is one of the most powerful mood-boosting wonders on the planet. Instead of turning on the bad-news-of-the-day television, brighten up your mornings with music, soft or loud, classical or rock, whatever gets you singing into your hairbrush, encouraging you to feel like the rock star you are. Here are a few songs to start your list: Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves; Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Paul Simon; Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake; Happy by Pharrell Williams; I’m a Believer by The Monkees; Love Shack by The B-52’s; and Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. There are so many that will get you singing, swaying and smiling in an instant. You can actually search your favorite music app or ask your go-to digital assistant for “happy songs” and find playlists full of them!

Exercise: I know you don’t want to hear this one, but it’s true that exercise releases your happy endorphins—real science! Don’t take on the no-pain-no-gain ideology. Get out there and do something you love to do. For me it’s walking at the beach. There have many days I have arrived for my beach walk with a heavy heart and flowing tears. By the time I left my eyes were dry, my spirit was lifted and my playlist was playing. Maybe that’s why the ocean is so salty. It heals our hearts and steals our tears. You know they say salt cures everything—sweat, tears and the sea.

Hold a beach circle: This is one of my favorite things to do! I look for an evening when low tide is between 5 and 7 o’clock to set the date. Then I invite 6-8 friends to bring their beach chairs, beverage of choice and an appetizer to share. We all show up, set our chairs in a circle and have a grand time talking and playing games until sunset. One time, I started a story with a prompt: “Once upon a time there was a women who ran aground on a sandbar right over near Parris Island, the next thing she knew she was surrounded by…” Then we go around the circle with each person adding to the story. Boy, it can get wacky and hilarious. These are the moments that make memories and put imprints on your heart. The kids can come too and enjoy their own games near the adults.

Limit social media and phone time: This is a biggie that will make a huge difference because these devices are sources of pure stress. It’s acceptable to take it away from your children, but remember children emulate their parents. They see you are on your phone just as much. Here’s the good news: checking social media accounts and staring at your phone are simply bad habits, which can be broken in just a few days if you’re really serious about it. I was with my family on vacation recently, and we all had our phones out. It’s as though a conversation can’t be had without Googling something, showing a picture or a video, or texting someone. I challenge you to stop this madness. It’s gone too far! Have an old-fashioned conversation that doesn’t need technology to prove or enhance anything. If you say your niece is adorable, we believe you. If you deem something is gross, we don’t need a picture to prove it. Humans have the ability to envision things without pictures or videos; it was once called imagination. It’s as if we’re going backwards. Before words, there were hieroglyphics, (picture script) because there were no words. Do we really need to go back there? We have words now! If you text something about a banana, you do not also need a banana emoji. Seriously.

Be grateful: Gratefulness is the Holy Grail of life. If you can look around your world and find things to be grateful for, you will never sink to the bottom of burden. It’s that simple; being actively grateful keeps you buoyant. If you start to feel weighed down, just look around and start naming things you’re grateful for. Take a moment to envision life without those things/people/places/views. Ahhhhh! Aren’t you so lucky?

So that’s just five things of thousands that can help you to lighten up. If you have more suggestions, I would love to hear them. Please email me. In the meantime, please don’t let this heavy time consume you or fill you with fear, guilt, anger, argumentativeness, or uneasiness. You must pamper your energy and psyche to weather this storm. If we allow heaviness to engulf us, we become unbalanced and ineffective. Cure yourself with enjoyable, stimulating, simple pleasures that can restore your senses and spirit, all while having fun and laughing. Laughing is like exercise: You may do it for just a few minutes, but it has long-lasting effects that keep you saturated in happiness for hours to come.

Just remember: Giggle instead of Google. Your soul will thank you.

Think Pink,
Elizabeth Millen