“Let That Sh*t Go” by Nina Purewal and Kate Petriw
Just finished this book, very helpful read. It’s a secret mindfulness book about how to be more present throughout life. How to view your own self separate from the things that stress you. I started reading it, about a month ago with some other books, when I was suffering from panicking thoughts. I was losing sleep, thinking I was dying, and then coming to the library to try and read this book as medicine. The first day of panic, I went to the ER because I thought it was serious, but when they said I was fine, I felt lost. Still literally scared. I had to come to Barnes and Noble because I couldn’t sleep and could no longer stay in bed. I felt desperate for some form of wisdom. This book’s title is so real and accessible, so I trusted it, reading little by little, trying to implement what it has to say into my everyday life. It’s been like a weighted blanket I can use to breathe and calm myself. Thinking about different opportunities I can take to care for myself better. Some quick takeaways, because I want to read it again and dissect it more, are:
Looking for peace, calm, and the happiness they bring, inside of myself rather than outside of myself.
Creating words for the part of my mind that is endless in its thinking thoughts, and the part of my mind that is being in tune with the world around me, not with obsessive fixation, but with calm ease. Chatty mind vs Observing mind.
The instant satisfaction of deep belly breathing.
The importance of gratitude in the grand scheme of things.
Mind Dumping onto paper with an overwhelming amount of thoughts. When in an anxious state, possibly.
Rewarding myself with positive thinking vs allowing judgmental and negative thinking to lead me away from the present.
Naming what you’re doing as a practice of being present in your day-to-day, as you experience it.
The negative effects that harmful self-talk can have on me. The actual effects of negative words on the chemical composition of water. They site an experiment from Japan.
Ways to let go of expectation and rejection.
The importance of forgiveness because it’s really about you, and how you don’t have to forgive someone to their face, for some perceived benefit, which could be unrealistic if the other person hasn’t changed. To forgive yourself.
It all felt useful, realistic and achievable. Something I think I didn’t consider was that after school, playing video games between work did nothing for my mental health. I was avoiding some thoughts and feelings by distracting myself with so much screen time. What you resist, persists. I’ve decided to buy this book even after coming to Barnes everyday to read it. Can’t say it enough.
Rolling Ferro
