Photo credit: Skye Glosserman (iPhone camera, no makeup, no filter)
I could use a little HELP right now. How about you?
I’m seriously struggling with the END OF SUMMER and BACK TO SCHOOL blues.
I’ve been lucky to enjoy a season of beach walks, sunsets, and rosé all day. It’s been wonderful to disconnect but now it’s BACK TO WORK. It’s Labor Day. I get it.
What do we DO when we are feeling like this? When we are RESISTING change? When we are holding on instead of MOVING THROUGH our negative emotions and rough patches?
I’ve learned that we must SHIFT our ENERGY. It’s not easy, but IT IS POSSIBLE.
Instead of becoming preoccupied with what I’m giving UP, I’m going to try and focus on giving BACK.
I find that not only does it make me feel better when I DO something for others, but also it helps DISTRACT me from whatever’s bothering me. And this is often equally as important.
Sometimes, it’s the little things that can trip us up: a nanny quits, we gained 3 pounds, we had words with a family member (all of which, by the way, happened to me).
What’s tripping you up? Let’s connect and #HashItOut
Chances are the small, insignificant things will work themselves out. Putting too much energy into them only makes them feel bigger, when what we really want to do is defuse them and shift our energy somewhere else. So let’s focus on something healthier and more positive.
Which brings me to this month’s focus: COMMUNITY. Speaking for my fellow New Yorkers, I realize it’s a bit nuts to live and work in the Big Apple—but it’s our neighbors and friends that keep us here. And for me and my husband Marc, it’s also our neighborhood park, Madison Square: a magnificent little place that brings us all together.
Marc and I moved to the Madison Square neighborhood in 2007, the year we had our son Austin and opened our 26th Street restaurant, Hill Country Barbecue Market. Shortly after, I joined the Park’s board. I didn’t know what it meant to serve on a board, and I’m pretty sure that I had no clue as to what I was doing when I sat beside prominent lawyers and captains of industry. Mostly, I would just smile and listen through the meetings. The quarterly highlight was sitting in the presence of restaurateur Danny Meyer, hearing him talk about his iconic Shake Shack, located right inside the Park, and learning that some of the Shack’s profits went to supporting the Park.
That got me thinking about how Marc and I could give back, and a few years later, we launched A Texas Toast. It’s an annual, Austin-style, honkytonk fundraiser that’s a tribute to our beloved Madison Square Park.
So if you’re free on Wednesday, October 10th, we hope you’ll join us, shift your energy, and do some good. Not only will you feel better, but I promise that you will also have a BLAST!
So please, stop stressing about school and schedules for a moment - that’s what I’m trying to DO. Park all that anxiety at the door, and remind yourself that where you place your focus is YOUR CHOICE.
Bye-bye Summer
#HopeThisHelps
Kristen Glosserman
