Hello, beautiful readers! This week, it's my turn to create a prompt for the #TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge. As we are so close to America's Thanksgiving holiday, I chose to go with the idea of silver linings, concentrating on our blessings instead of our struggles.
Most of you know I have an anxiety disorder. I was diagnosed back in 2016 when my doctor asked me to see a psychologist because she was worried my stress would literally kill me. After being diagnosed, I began neurofeedback therapy and attended one-on-one therapy sessions. I also did a deep dive into how to rid myself of anxiety without being dependent on drugs.
In that dive, I found meditation, mindfulness, emotional frequency tapping, and Dr. Rick Hanson. Dr. Rick Hanson really spoke to the intellect in me. He has these weekly emails he sends where he explains why we respond the way we do and how we can change our behavior to lower our stress. He calls them Just One Thing. He also has free weekly meditations as well.
In one of his Just One Thing newsletters, he shared how our brains have been trained to focus on negative stimuli more strongly than positive stimuli. He says, "The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones." He then explains how we can begin to change what our brain focuses on. You can read two of these newsletters here and here.
During COVID, I was obsessed with John Krasinski's Some Good News videos. I needed something to remind me of all the good in the world during a time when fear held a grip on most people, including me. I wish that program still existed.
So, for this week, I wanted to remind everyone to focus on the good. See the light amid the darkness, and give your energy to moments of happiness and joy. I chose to write a tanka poem, which is a five-lined poem with a syllabication pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. The third line is usually the pivot line.
world cloaked in utter darkness
sliver of moonlight
illumination of stars
silvery beauty shines through
Would you like to create your own poem on this theme? Join us here!
So beautiful 💙
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lesley! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. :-)
DeleteThis is beautiful, Yvette! I love the light shining through the darkness, a little sliver of hope in the midst of struggles. ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lauren! It's always important to find the light. I appreciate you coming by and commenting. :-)
DeleteA very positive beautiful tanka. Your silvery beauty shines through your work. Thank you for your generous comments.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you, Rall! I appreciate your compliments and your support. :-)
DeleteHi Yvette, this is a beautiful poem and I enjoyed your introduction. I think we all suffer from anxiety to some extent so your words are relatable and helpful. Have a good weekend. Robbie
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robbie! I'm happy you could connect with something I wrote. :-)
Delete(Jules) Thank you! I think we all have too much baggage... But I think we can pack it up and leave it somewhere where no one else can find it. When I started Blogging I found a lovely commuity that focused on Small Stones - writing something (for me anyway) positive everyday. I truly think that and passing on the dark side helps. (((Hugs))) And thanks for the prompt.
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of small stones, Jules! Thanks for visiting and sharing that with me. :-)
DeleteOh Yvette this is wonderful, and as I am also someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder I can totally relate to this, and am going to read those newsletters. Thank you for hosting and providing this prompt 💞Suzanne
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Suzanne! I think you will find Dr. Hanson's newsletters comforting. As an intellect, it truth helps me understand the whys behind behavior. I'm so happy you found my post enjoyable and helpful. :-)
DeleteYvi, I love how you focused on the light coming out of the darkness. I feel that anxiety sometimes as well. I totally understand. This was an excellent theme. Thanks so much for making this challenge so fun. 💕
ReplyDeleteThank you, Colleen! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. :-)
DeleteI love the theme you chose, Yvette and the reason behind it. It really is do much easier to take in all the negative over the positive. I work on the same thing, not easy but worth it! Love the poem and that light. Hugs xo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise! It takes mindfulness to recognize when our brain is going back to the negative default and rewriting the script. Like you said, it's worth the effort! :-)
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