141. When You Feel

Not to dish out unsolicited advice but…Nora has some advice for you and we really think you should hear it. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

I’m not big on advice – but I do like to share the things that have worked for me with the big caveat that I am me, and you are you, and for the most part, you are strangers. We are all going through different things, also the same things, and the things that work well for me might sound bananas to you, just like my friend’s habit of waking up at 5am and taking an ice-cold shower sound…appealing to me.

So this isn’t advice, but this is advice. For when you feel the icky things you don’t want to feel, and you don’t want anyone to know you feel them.

If you feel invisible, make someone else feel seen. This podcast is about noticing the small okay things in life. But when it comes to people, notice them out loud! Text a friend a shared memory that makes you laugh. Tell your children a story from when they were littler. Reach through the loneliness you’re feeling right now to a moment you felt connection, and revisit it. 

If you feel unappreciated, show your appreciation. Stay on the line for an extra six seconds and give that customer service rating possible. When the cashier tells you to visit the website at the bottom of your mile-long CVS receipt to give feedback on their performance, do it! Write a glowing online review for a place you’d never think to write a review for. Write a long-overdue letter to thank someone for the impact they’ve had on your life, even if so much time has passed you’re not sure they remember you.

If you feel slighted, be generous with someone else. With your praise, your resources, whatever you have available to you. Give credit where it is due, even if you think you’ve already given the credit. Send someone a gift just because. Find a stamp in your junk drawer, dig through your box of cards, and write someone a letter even if they have never, ever sent you one in reply. 

Remember that we are all so fragile, so small, so temporary. We can give each other what we didn’t get, and we can trust that more will come around.

CREDITS.