TWO + TWO= ONE

Two doses of vaccine + two weeks = one happy gal. What a weight off! And what a thrill to be able to spend time with family celebrating our daughter's birthday! It's funny how I didn't realize the weight I was carrying in trying to maintain all the careful edicts to avoid bringing covid-19 into our milieu. And what utter joy it was yesterday to be able to hug and laugh and just be together again. Even if you don't think you are worried, go get the vaccine when you can. You might be surprised. I was.

A STICK IN TIME SAVES...

Off to Coronado for the second dose of the Moderna vaccine today. High Hopes...for so much, not least of which is that the forecasts for further deaths here in the US (which passed the half million mark now) are just flat out wrong.

I look forward to again taking road trips with daughter Jenna, dining out with friends, visits with family, hugs and more hugs and more hugs, and workshops and........... And so many other fun times that have been sitting on a back burner for almost a year now. Yes, we are moving forward quickly, but time is also moving fast so let's get that stick in the arm...NOW!

  

 

NAVIGATING THROUGH

Author Pam Houston asks, "How do we mourn and be joyful at once?"

We have some pretty glorious sunsets here in the west. Whether standing on the shore or driving westerly we can be mesmerized and entranced by the stunning beauty. Sadly, all too often the glories are due to the weather fallout from fires or other dirty air contributors.

How do we navigate through both the love and the sadness? What of the losses that contribute to all this beauty, whether from fires or pollution or other outcomes of our ever-changing climate?

Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in acceptance, at least the acceptance of allowing for the questions and the pain of those questions and then doing whatever we can to alleviate, to move toward more positive change. Is this a dangerously naive stance to hold out this hope? Acknowledging my own lack of knowing and still keeping my heart wide open to this glory is a start, even while a small one.

During this year of 2020 with all the political upheaval and covid-19 concerns, to see the beauties of our wonderful planet is certainly a blessing. Hopefully, it is one we can allow to continue. Whether the beautiful sunset, the lush green of a meadow, the screech of a hawk, the hooting of an owl in the starry night...preserve and protect...and love it with all my being, even knowing so much is being systematically destroyed. Challenging.

SEVEN BREATHS

 

Seven breaths.

Reading the book Air Mail by Pam Houston and Amy Irvine, just out today. It is made up of letters between these two wonderful writers from March through May of this year of Covid and deals with not only the pandemic, but politics, environment and more.

At one point Irvine speaks of a video that deals with brain changes that take place when anger or fear or anxiety are triggered. "...the reptilian brain takes over...we cannot resolve conflict, cannot feel compassion, cannot create solutions." It goes on to state that taking seven deep breaths can put one back in the frontal cortex--area of reasoning, calm and empathy.

Wow! Knowing this in the past didn't matter. Reading it in the moment stopped me in my tracks. Too often of late I and so many others have been thrown into that reptilian goo by the daily news updates. Seven breaths. Could it really be this simple? Can the heart pumping upset be stilled so easily? Can I really let go of comments that send me into orbit?

This election year has seen an increase in that heart pounding angst like never before. Sure, it's tripled and then some by dealing with a pandemic, but.... OK. Seven breaths. Seven more, if needed. And even seven more. Would that others around the nation could follow this example...PLEASE