Three Things, my Wednesday post series, inspired by my love for bite-sized, tiny but mighty pieces of information.

One. This —

I’ve been meditating regularly for a month now. Haven’t missed a day. Which is notable. Well, notable for me. Rather than me tell you to do it, to just meditate — I’ll share what one of the results of this daily occurrence has done for me. Ideas pop-up more often and I’m more prone to act on them. Creative and awesome ones. Rather than dismiss them as a “Oh that won’t work, or I’ll do it later.” I carry them out. I send the email, I take the chance, and make the call to a friend I haven’t talked to in awhile.

I have a few meditations I like to use. If you’re so inclined to check it out, I use this app and I like this meditation on YouTube. There’s also a financial abundance and a relationship meditation. Fifteen minutes a day, all to yourself. Wins all around.

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Two. “What Can I Do?” —

Recently I’ve had some people in my life tell me they’re struggling with depressive moods and thoughts. It affects them on a fear basis and then causes them to have analysis paralysis. Where they virtually stop acting and doing. The less they do, the worse they feel. I’m so honored they felt safe enough to share this with me.

When I begin to wonder how to help and become all wrapped up in these thoughts, I stop and breathe and remind myself to simply show up for them. To check in and to listen, to support. To encourage them to seek out professional help. A therapist, maybe a business coach as well to allow themselves to take small steps toward action. To help them build their team of support.

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Three. She’s Many Things. —

“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”

— Grace Lee Boggs

Yes to this.

“She’s strong but she’s exhausted.”

— r.H. Sin

And also to this. It’s our job to take care of ourselves first. Case in point: This is the reason on an airplane they advise to put your oxygen mask in place before helping the person next to you.

I remember a distinct conversation with my Mom a few years ago about this. She said to me, “Well I wouldn’t, I would put the mask on you and your brother first.” To which I replied, “OK, but what if we’re both flying with you. And you put one of ours on first, and then when you turn to take care of your other child, you pass out from lack of oxygen because you don’t have your mask on. Then what?”

She didn’t answer for awhile. She demurred. We hung up the phone and this particular topic didn’t get brought up for months. Then one day she said out of the blue, “I thought about it. I see the point. It makes sense.”