Having just had a birthday, I find I’ve been doing some reflection. This week of reflection may also be exacerbated by where I’ve been mentally and emotionally lately. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived a long life and done so much; other times I feel like it’s been a blink of an eye and I have way too much stuff still on my “bucket” list. I look at myself and wonder why it took me so long to get to where I am now, wishing that sometimes I had’t made certain decisions that may have slowed down my journey. Yet that would be a paradox because if I hadn’t made those decisions, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. Reminds me of the movie, “The Butterfly Effect”. Go watch it – it’s one with Aston Kutcher that’s worth the watch.
I feel so much gratitude that I have been able to and continue to learn so much about wellbeing and apply it to my life. I’ve also been incredibly lucky to be able to share this knowledge with people and have them come back to me and say that it works for them and has made a difference in their life. My plan is to one day share with more people on a larger scale. At the end of the day, we are all just human beings figuring out our way around this life on Earth.
No matter what we learn, how much we grow and what we experience, I realize now that the words my Aunt Johanna said to me when I was 20 years old now ring true. She said that the music we listen to in our late teens/early twenties (the formative years) is the music that will always be our favourite and our “go-to” for comfort. And I find that with all things; what I loved during those years are the things that bring back warm, happy memories, make me jump up and sing and dance like no one is listening and watching. If someone is listening, I tend not to sing so much as dance. If you’ve heard me sing you know what I’m talking about. Ever heard my Axl Rose? I’m pretty freakin’ awesome….in the shower or the car, so long as I’m all by myself!
So, normally my blogs lead you down some sort of path to wellbeing practices. And I guess the key takeaway of this one is when you are in need of comfort, find your “go-to’s” that make you smile, reminisce, sing, dance or salivate! Have those in your back pocket, ready to go for those moments when you need some comfort. There are times in our lives when we need more comfort than others. The past couple of months have been one of those times for me. It’s just where I’m at right now. But you should also have your own “comfort” playlist or binge-watching list ready to go.
Before I give you a sampling of mine (which you can totally steal from) I must provide a warning that in my late teen/early twenties I had been dubbed “The Metal Queen”. Enuff Said (if you got that reference you might be too!). That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate most 80’s music but my definite comfort playlist would be mostly 80’s hair bands…after all, I still have the hair!
I also want to remind you that this is my comfort list. Not my favourite artists and movies. Give me a break; I do have depth…(says the girl whose favourite movie is Jaws).
Okay; here goes…my “go-to”, comfort playlist and binge worthy indulgences…
– pretty much anything by Motley Crüe (unless it’s Home Sweet Home because no one wants that sappy-ass song stuck in their head)
– I can say the same for Guns & Roses, The Cult, The Scorpions, Def Leppard, Pat Benetar and Joan Jett
I sing my ass off to these songs:
- – “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Warrant
- – “Can’t Get Enough” by Winger
- – “Thriller” by Michael Jackson (surprise!)
- – “Mr. Roboto” by Styx
- – “Panama” by Van Halen
- – “Turbo Lover” by Judas Priest
- – “Metal Health” by Quiet Riot
– some of my comfort movies are not 80’s movies but I don’t change the channel if any of these are on:
- – The Outsiders (Stay gold, PonyBoy) (Side note; I still watch anything that has C. Thomas Howell in it; he was my big crush; well, him and John Stamos as Blackie on GH)
- – Top Gun (beach volleyball anyone?)
- – The Lost Boys (80’s vamps, yes please!)
- – Young Guns (did you see the size of that chicken?)
- – The Breakfast Club (Don’t you forget about me)
- – Sixteen Candles (whatever happened to the hot guy in that?)
- – Flashdance (maybe that’s why I moved to the Soo…steel town dancer?)
- – Footloose (I want a Beetle to drive around with Metal Health cranked too!)
- – Dirty Dancing (Nobody puts Baby in the corner.)
- – The Princess Bride (where do I even start…maybe with My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die).
– non 80’s comfort movies would be:
- – Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (Kevin Costner as the worst, best Robin Hood)
- – Pretty Woman
- – Pride and Prejudice
- – 10 Things I Hate About You
- – The Crow
- – Dracula (Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder)
- – First Knight (best movie kiss ever!)
- – Rob Roy
- – Last of the Mohicans
Other things that bring me comfort (you can steal these too):
- – a warm mug of tea
- – a cozy blanket
- – binge watching Beat Bobby Flay (but you knew that)
- – snuggling my stuffed shark, Finn
- – colouring or knitting
- – a walk in the sun
- – reading what I call a “fluff” book which is usually just a fiction book because I read so much non-fiction
Figure out what brings you comfort and have things on standby for when you need them. Now that I’ve written this, give me a couple of days and you’ll be able to find Angela’s Comfort Playlist on Spotify.
Take care of yourselves, my friends, for you are your own best friend.
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