Photo by Antonio Quagliata on Pexels
Since I will be traveling shortly for a few weeks, I am of course feeling the standard pre-travel anxiety. My logical brain knows that I can only control what I can control, and I should not worry about any of the many things beyond my control when traveling (weather, delays, stressed out people, turbulence, yadda, yadda, yadda). And, indeed, I have written in the past about tips for destressing before a trip, which include focusing on all of the exciting things I’m traveling to and spending time on things I can control, like packing.
But, even though my monkey mind knows all about these perfectly logical tips, still it goes spinning, spinning, spinning. Of course, I had planned to spend my day going for soothing walks, packing, and trying out some mindful yoga (Yoga With Adrienne is my favorite). But what happened to me on my perfectly pleasant walk today? I got stung by a bee! And, ooooooh, did that sucker hurt. I knew it was a bee sting, because the poor little critter left its stinger in my leg, and it’s the only insect that does that. I say “poor little critter,” because to leave its stinger in you, the bee then goes on to die, which is always a bit sad to me. But, the sting still stings. Mayo clinic recommends elevating your leg and applying cold compresses to the little wound, which actually worked wonders for me.
So, my calming day was thrown for a bit of a loop. To help calm some of that mind spinning, what I’ve done instead is turn to one of my guaranteed de-stressors: comfort TV. And for me, that means rewatching old episodes of The Great British Baking Show. I absolutely love this show. It is of course a cooking competition show, but it is such a gentle competition. It is so different from its American cooking show siblings, like Top Chef, where cocky young chefs battle it out in tiny kitchens with not enough cooking equipment and outlandish challenges like preparing Michelin-quality airline food. Instead of pitting these chefs against each other and pushing them to focus on their personal dramas, the British baking show instead showcases salt-of-the earth folks like grandmas, yes, but also truck drivers and school teachers.
These are folks that just enjoy baking, and they can be found more often than not helping each other so that they can all finish a challenge equally. These bakers are really competing more against themselves, though, yes, the show does eventually award a top spot to only one baker. That baker gets bragging rights and no money, which also removes some of the manufactured drama you can get in other types of cooking competitions. Some of the winners do go on to a measure of success after the show because of their win, through cookbooks and sometimes even cooking shows, like 2015 winner, Nadiya Hussain (a series with an ending that has me in joyful tears every time I rewatch it).
The simple pleasure of watching generally happy and helpful people baking delicious-looking cakes, cookies, and pies always makes me feel instantly better and less stressed.
What are your comfort shows? Share them in the comments below!
Quick note: I will be traveling over the next few weeks, so I will be blogging a bit less frequently then my typical four posts/week. I’m hoping to share some fun photos and blogs when I do blog during my travels.
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