ISOLATION ARTIST BLOG DAY 33

I've reposted day 30 as it wasn't uploading properly - I thought I'd have to write it all again today, which is never quite the same. 

Thank goodness today is a new day. Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for me. I felt anxious and unsettled all day. I realise I don't normally write about this kind of thing as I have felt I need to write an upbeat or entertaining post and keep the flag flying. But then that isn't the truth of the matter and could lead people to think that I'm always chirpy and bright. True I'm an optimistic, glass half full type of person, yet sometimes my mind will rum away with me in a very unhelpful direction. This morning I decided to take charge and have done 45 minutes of Pilates instead of sitting in bed drinking tea for too long. Don't get me wrong I love drinking tea in bed in the morning but this has been stretching on later and later and can make me feel quite morose. I prefer to get going earlier, so here I am blogging in the morning instead.

Liz Gilbert, who I follow on facebook because I like her writing, shared a very useful teaching today. A woman called Byron Katie has taught her a lot about the workings of the mind. A deceptively simple method consists of taking one stress-inducing thought at a time, and asking of it these 4 questions: "Is it true? Can I absolutely know that it's true? How do I react when I believe that it's true? Who would I be without that belief?" I find this very helpful but need to remember to do the work to alleviate any potential effect of the monsters that live in my back cupboard.

Todays painting is about being with yourself. See you tomorrow.