2022 Intentions – May Reflections

Note: I wrote this a couple weeks ago already but life decided to throw me a little curve ball in the form of a kidney stone which was quite “distracting” to say the least. Anyway, here it is.

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I wrote about my 2022 Intentions (as an alternative to resolutions) during the new year. After wrapping up May it’s time to reflect again. As a reminder, “intentions” are the behaviors and attitudes that I intend to promote and champion within myself each day. The intent is to do (be) my best on any given day…in any given moment. There are no rules. No broken promises. Just good intentions.

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Well May turned out to be a very unusual month. As those of you that have been following me or the situation in Shanghai in general we continue to be locked down. But this month I also spent 18 days with my wife locked down in the hospital due to her broken leg and needed surgery. Needless to say this was pretty disruptive to my daily rhythms and practices. Between the stress of the accident, the demands of taking care of a loved one in need at all hours of day and night, and only a sofa to sleep on, I found rest whenever I could. I worked sporadically using only my cell phone (I didn’t stop to get anything except the car keys when I rushed my wife to the hospital, let alone my computer). It was a weird month.

With regard to my intentions, it’s also been a bit of an unusual month, but let’s recap.

#1 Intention: Rise and Shine

My first 2022 Intention was to ”Rise and Shine”. To get up when I (first) wake up. Given my normal sleep patterns I decided to wake and get up at 5 a.m. (with a 9-9:30 sleep target to ensure I got enough sleep to feel rested).

In May, aside from the days in the hospital I generally kept to the 5am wake-up schedule. In the hospital I was up at all times during the night and I slept whenever my wife slept so I (smartly) abandoned this intention for that period. I was exhausted and slept a lot! Stress will do that to you. However, overall, I feel I did well in managing my energy, which is the real intention here.

#2 Intention: Move

My second 2022 Intention was to “Move”. To get my body moving daily whether it be doing yoga, or taking a walk, or going for a bike ride or swim it’s all good. The idea here was whether I feel fresh or tired, I‘ll choose to move.

As you can imagine, being locked down in a hospital does not exactly support an active lifestyle. I made a short walk down to the lobby to get a cup of coffee in the morning. Another walk to the cafeteria in the afternoon or evening to pick up something to eat but that was about it. There are rumors that the lock-down will ease up in June and I look forward to getting back to walking outside which is my preferred form of exercise “when I don’t feel like exercising”.

While this intention has nothing to do with weight management, I did happen to lose 5 Kg during the hospital stay despite my inactivity. Probably mostly due to limited dietary intake and stress. It does feel nice to be a little lighter on my feet and I look forward getting back into some sense of normality with this intention.

#3 Intention: Be

My third 2022 Intention was to “Be”. To meditate each day.

I found meditating in the hospital environment difficult. I usually listen to a guided meditation but without any privacy I didn’t feel comfortable. Instead I tended to write as my form of meditative therapy. So let’s move onto the next intention.

#4 Intention: Create

My fourth 2022 Intention was to “Create”. To write and or create art each day.

I wrote all but two days this month and considering everything that was going on I consider that quite impressive. April was a very productive month and I wasn’t sure what I would do with my writing in May, but life gave me plenty of material to work with (funny how that works isn’t it?). This months writing was very therapeutic. Especially for processing my feelings around the accident. The fear. The guilt. The gratitude. I’m so appreciative to have this creative outlet in my life.

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So there they are. My May reflections. Another mixed bag, but if I think back at all I’ve done to take care of myself and my loved ones I did a pretty good job. This whole intentions thing is supposed to be about positivity and a little bit of self-compassion can go along way.

How was May for you?

Be well,

Monty

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• Unstapled