Stumble It!i was excitedly looking forward to two days shooting street photos for my portfolio and for a project in new york city monday and tuesday. i had booked a great sale airfare and secured a room at a hotel designed by philippe starck that i have wanted to stay at for years. it was to be a creative recharge in many ways.
my poor pup got sick last week from possibly a pain med complication, possibly something else. but after a visit to the vet, we thought she was improving on saturday. only to experience quite a dramatic relapse. it is extraordinarily painful to see her in such pain and unable to eat and get her meds in for days.
i could not leave her and had to cancel my much needed trip at quite some expense. prepaid rooms just don't make sense when living with a pup with unpredictable health. ugh.
i was fighting with myself for being angry about it. and was keen to find ways to rechannel my frustration when all i wanted to do was stamp my foot and be upset. but that's no fun for me or zoe. i knew i needed to turn it around and quickly. the tools i use in this situation would serve me well in the future, so better to get the essentials in a toolkit now.
my takeaway values tools for rechanneling frustration:
- first and probably present in each of the particulars below is gratitude. best defuser of anger and frustration ever. what can i transform this two days at home into so that i am grateful for the unexpected opportunity?
- grateful for the focused time to immerse myself in my photography, which i have been missing. i made a list of JUST photography-related to-dos that i could focus on in the two days.
- i am still taking myself off the grid for the two days and catching up on my online photography courses, and challenging myself to push some comfort zones with my shooting. that was my intent with the trip and to be accountable to that need, i will spend the days at home equally focused.
- i will look at photography books that i collect but haven't yet perused to get inspiration on new ways of seeing.
- i will let the money chagrin go. let it go. let it go. still working on this one. it was a painful cost. but i am grateful that it was just an overnight. it could have been far more painful.
- i will focus on the positive of being here 24/7 to take care of my girl and to keep her feeling nurtured and safe. happy pup is happy me. and of course, she is still teaching me loads about love and patience.
- and for physical health, yoga sessions each day.
as i was casting about this morning in a funk trying to find my way out of it, the values toolkit popped into my head as the answer. and sure enough, it has done the trick.
liz
Comments