The power of the reframe

Do you do this?

A whole body yes

I believe pretty strongly in the ‘whole body yes’. When an opportunity presents itself (work / leisure / food), if it’s not a whole body yes, it’s a no.

Except sometimes, it’s both / and.

I’m writing to you from an airport hotel in Joburg, where I’m staying for 3 days for a multi-stakeholder diabetes meeting. Super important for my work with Sweet Life! Bringing together stakeholders from civil society from all over South Africa, with a particular focus on diabetes education (my passion) and peer mentorship.

From a work perspective, this is a full body yes - of course I had to come! I was invited to speak, on the first day, to an audience that included the National Department of Health and WHO South Africa. Yes please and thank you so much.

At the same time: a 4am wake-up call to get to the airport. 3 days away from my family, with all the emotional and logistical rearrangement that requires. Out of my rhythm of nature walks and whole foods and fresh air - you know what work travel is like.

Reframing through glimmers

So I consciously reframed by looking for glimmers. I started with the classic: instead of, “I have to go to Joburg for work, I get to go to Joburg for work.”

Then I noticed the peace of a 45-minute pre-dawn drive to the airport with hardly any other cars around and beautiful classical music playing. How extraordinary to watch the sun rise from mid-air. The true gift of a night alone in a hotel room, with no kids to play with / laugh with / cuddle cook for and put to bed.

I had a bubble bath and read my book, friends. And then I ordered room service and watched a movie! What abundance.

So often, it seems to me, the reframe is as simple as slightly angling our perspective. Like turning your head a little to one side and seeing what the world looks like that way.

Here’s this week’s slice of joy…

Waking up and reading in bed

Talk about luxury! Instead of waking up and starting the day (breakfast / lunchboxes / finding shoes and packing bags), this morning I woke up and made myself a cup of tea, then climbed into bed and read my book. Heaven!

While this is a usual weekend routine for us (we have taught our kids the joy of reading in bed in the mornings!), a friend told me last week that she purposefully wakes up an hour earlier so she can start her day slowly, pottering around and feeling like it’s the weekend, and that blew my mind… I think it might be kind of genius.

Similar glimmers:

• Getting ready slowly: long, leisurely shower, picking out your clothes with care, remembering to apply body lotion (is it just me who forgets?!)

• An unhurried grocery shop: where you actually get to look for the things you want, rather than just grabbing them quickly from the shelves.