The BLUGH: April 26, 2023
“Don’t spend a lot of time imagining the worst-case scenario. It rarely goes down as you imagine it will, and if by some fluke it does, you will have lived it twice.”
Hello, BLUGH readers!! Writing to you from the future! Oh, you don’t know what I mean? Basically, I have been letting anxiety over future, imaginary problems consume my waking (and sleeping!!) consciousness and the act of writing of the date at the top of the BLUGH is the only thing keeping me in 2023! The other day, I had to remind myself I was 33. I was convinced that I was 35 because I was thinking about lyfe goals and worried so much about my lyfe in the next couple of years THAT I THOUGHT I WAS 35. To be clear, 35 will be 🔥lit🔥 and I’m looking forward to it. BUT I AM 33. Just be 33 and chill, Me!
What do you do when you worry? I ✨clearly✨ have not figured out how to eliminate worry and anxiety about the future, but there are a few things I try to remember when the Future Worries™️ get out of hand:
The thing you are imagining will happen, probably won’t happen (please see quote at top of BLUGH). You’re creative, but not powerful enough to wield fate.
The above said, ENERGY/LAW OF ATTRACTION/MANIFESTATION are still things (to me), so if you put bad vibes out there with your thoughts and intentions, you might end up encountering some bad vibes. Seek and ye shall find and all that.
If you really stay in the present, it’s like you’ve found the fountain of youth I’M SERIOUS. Staying present makes you feel like you have nothing but time and you feel so much better. To stay in the present is to be free and it EXPANDS the moments. 🧙♂️Wizardry🧙♂️? Nay, 🙏presence🙏.
When I want to get back in the present, I focus on things around me and I let my senses bring me back. Things I can see/hear/smell. Once I’m back in the present, I feel like I should be worrying about the future again and so I go back to creating imaginary scenarios about what bad things could happen JUST KIDDING OR AM I???
🌸 LEARNING OF THE WEEK: A la topic of worry and anxiety, how about switching out paranoia for pronoia? Pronoia “describes a state of mind that is the opposite of paranoia. Whereas a person suffering from paranoia feels that persons or entities are conspiring against them, a person experiencing pronoia believes that the world around them conspires to do them good.” (ty wiki) 🌸
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION
In an attempt to be present, let me tell you what is happening right this now as I write the BLUGH. I am sipping on a non-alcoholic beverage meant to stave my craving for an ACTUAL glass of wine. It’s nice! FYI found this gem of a stock photo when I typed “drunk on life” into the iStock search.
The alcohol alternative beverage market has grown a lot and I am delighted by the variety of options and appalled by the fact that most of these non-alcoholic drinks are JUST AS EXPENSIVE AS ALCOHOLIC DRINKS WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?! Anyway, here are my favorite alcohol alternatives if you’d like to give them a try:
Wine alternative. NOT wine-like, just nice to sip as one would sip wine.
Beer. Very beer like, I think this is very tasty and absolutely hits the spot for a post work cold one.
Ready to go cocktail. Tastes…incredible!!!
Rum alternative. Random and I wouldn’t have purchased this but got it as a gift (ty, Jason ❤️) and love it with some lime La Croix.
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BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Speaking of worrying about the future…dystopian societies, anybody? I seriously love anything that is set in a dystopian reality. I have read many books and seen many movies and TV shows about this topic (all fictional, no real scaries), and one of my favorite dystopian novels is Parable of the Sower. This book is so good (not feel-good though!) and Octavia E. Butler was one of the most creative storytellers.
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TIKTOKS
Sometimes I have to escape the present and the future! That’s where TikTok comes in. Here’s this week’s collection of TikToks that delighted and entertained me.
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November 2011
Me and Stacey
My friend, Stacey, and I in front of a convent she lived in (fr) in New Orleans the fall after college. Would like to time travel to tell those girls their futures are bright.