July was an interesting month for me. It was both relaxing and stressful at the same time. Since the events throughout the month fluctuated between stressful and non stressful without my control, I knew I needed to do things to keep my mind calm even though life isn’t. Since the month is now over, I wanted to share the things I relayed on to keep my mind calm and my sanity in check.

Watching The Royal Ballet’s 2019 Revival Production of Romeo and Juliet on YouTube

On July 10th, The Royal Opera House’s YouTube channel posted the full length 2019 revival production of The Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet. I don’t like Romeo and Juliet because… well… everyone dies. Ok, not everyone dies, but I still remember being a child and watching a Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet for the first time and was so depressed I never wanted to watch Romeo and Juliet again. Yet, The Royal Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet is a version I like to watch and don’t mind re watching over and over again. Since The Royal Opera House had to close due to Covid-19, they posts full length, pro shot versions of their previous performances on their YouTube channel. When they posted Romeo and Juliet on July 10th, I was ecstatic and watched it over and over again until July 24th, when the video was taken down.

 

Watching Koren Housewife/Homebody YouTube Vlogs

I discovered (or rediscovered in some cases) Koren housewife and homebody vlogs during quarantine in April. In July, I began to binge watch some of my favorite channels. Watching the vlogs cheered me up and gave me ideas on how to be productive and cooking meals. I even learned how to make a new sandwich. (Well, it’s not that new, but it’s new to me!) I’m so glad I found the channels I watch today because not only are the calming videos, they give me ideas and inspiration.

 

Hot Baths with Epson Salts

I’m a huge fan of hot baths with epson salts as way to relax sore muscles and unwind after a bad day at work. This past month, I had plenty of sore muscles due to my attempts to get myself to exercise regularly again and work areas of my body that need physical therapy. If it hadn’t been for hot baths with epson salts, I would be more moody and cranky than I normally tend to be.

 

Talking to My Friends on the Phone

My friends don’t live near me, so I don’t get to see them often. After the lock downs due to Covid-19, it was nearly impossible to talk to them in person. So, we talked on the phone.

Talking to my friends lifted my spirit and cheered me up more than I realized I needed. I just wish I could visit them in person instead of talking to them on the phone.

 

Ignoring the News

The last thing I did this past month that kept me sane is ignoring (or not watching) the news. I did watch the news sometimes, but I limited my viewing to a certain amount of time a day. Because of this, I felt more at peace. Although some may believe that this is an ignorance is bliss way of dealing with reality, I know that this did help me by focusing on watching the news shows and reading news apps that will deliver news I need and will use instead of wasting my limited news-watching time by watching news shows and reading news apps that won’t tell me the news when I need it.

 

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!