A pretty corner.

One of the best ways to cope with stress is to be in a positive physical space. That’s something I’ve been learning. For high-functioning introverts, especially in higher education, it can be very stressful. Add being a mother & a woman to that, & that ups the ante. Many introverts are drawn to my kind of career. While an INFJ is supposed to be a rare personality type, I find I’m surrounded by a number of them, as well as INTJs. There have been claims that introvert intuitive personalities excel in traditional school systems. It may be true. There are many, many of us.

And yet, the world of education is by its very nature a stress-inducing one. Cramming for tests, studying for exams, feverishly writing until the wee hours to meet a deadline, trying to get good grades, hoping your presentation goes well, creating arguments & using information both in logical and ethical ways. Most activities induce frenzy or anxiety. Which is why mental health breaks matter, as do quiet places with quirky crannies full of character.

Even something like shredded burlap or a hanging lamp can create interest.

Pretty little plants. 

When I reflect on travel in Italy, for example, I appreciated the integration of the physical beauties amidst the bustle of the simple workday. Food, architecture, art, music, gardens, & the slowness of life. There’s a reason why books like Eat Pray Love & Under the Tuscan Sun hold appeal for working women seeking meaning in a patriarchal world that expects a perfectly timed spinning of plates, which spin faster & faster… as you learn a whirling dervish’s dance… while keeping the plates from falling. Phew!

Taking moments to stop & be quiet, to reflect; that’s growing tougher & tougher in modern society. The technological landscapes of the future rarely include vegetative life, trees, plants, woods. In making everything new, the old finds itself discarded, replaced by something faster, sleeker, trendier, cooler. Maybe that’s why I love spaces like that at Apotheca. Maybe that’s why I incorporate a similar approach in my own interiors.

Another enticing cranny full of quirky things. 

Even a dead tree lives on in this lovely space. 

As a personal goal, I’ve become more reflective, more aware of reading a room & looking for nonverbal communication. Well, that’s my aim, anyway. In those moments, my silence can be a strong tool, & consistent feedback provided to me by caring individuals suggest that I can better sharpen that tool. I agree. I think writing, like this blog, can help me to slow down, think through interactions, & consistently strive to become more efficient & effective. At least in speech. My writing, here, doesn’t reflect that need for brevity, sadly.

One of my beloved mentors, Dr. Henry Vittum, bemoaned my Valley Girl use of “like” & “you know” that “peppered” my spoken language (as he detailed in a letter of recommendation he wrote for my applying for grad school), something he considered quite dreadful. Years later, one of my former high school students paid me a compliment, (I think). “You sound like a well-educated Valley Girl.” I guess I still had & may still have work to do!

Pretty booth, & introverts like booths. 

Unique floral arrangements. 

Recently, I’ve been reevaluating many, many things. And I’ve come to realize that creating beauty in the daily has become incredibly important to me. There’s a balance to be found between professional ambition & academic service (a calling central to my identity & life) & the all-important valuing of life’s moments which create meaning not defined by time or money. Those things that when we leave this mortal coil will provide some purpose for others. Meaning.

And despite what naysayers might grumble, we do know that life has meaning. We know our names & legacies can exist after our deaths. Our meaning can be remembered.

We witness it every single day. In the stories we tell, in the names of figures long gone but were never appreciated in their own times. There’s a certain loneliness recognized when you see the world through such a unique lens. Pretty spaces in nature & quirky crannies with nature indoors can provide us with physical reminders of that insight, & they keep us aware of the “ghost in the machine.”

A massive air plant.

Another nook filled with interests.

Curio wall, lovely in its simplicity.