YOU ARE NOT ALONE

All of what is going out there in the world is definitely causing a significant amount of additional stress to our already, over stressed lives. Covid isolation and disease, unemployment and financial worries, racial tensions, academic uncertainty for our kids, continued global warming and political conflict are all adding to the stress in a major way.

You may not realize it, but it’s there. Simmering. I thought I was pretty resilient, but I definitely feel it. I have been a bit of a bear recently but I hate to think what I would be like if I didn’t meditate or run every morning! Remember, we are all always a work in progress.

Watching people behave irresponsibly and promoting completely ridiculous notions has been disheartening. 

This morning was particularly bad for me as I had a very tense surgical procedure I performed on someone who has had 3 different cancers already and this was likely a recurrence of one he had treated at a big university, apparently successfully, 12 years ago. Today’s surgery went well from a technical standpoint but the early diagnosis was depressing and I left the hospital more down and nervous than normal. Nervous because each time I enter the hospital, the hairs on the back of my neck go up as it is.

I decided to stop by Starbucks for a soy-latte, a rare indulgence since I hate the plastic from the cups, try to watch unnecessary sugars along with the added waste because they won’t fill my stainless steel to-go cup because of Covid, but I gave in. I was pleasantly surprised when the checkout barista told me that the person in front of me in the drive through lane paid for my cup. Although this was a small act, it was meaningful, lifted my spirits and I passed the good will along to the customer behind me.

We are ALL experiencing increased stress. We ll need to cut ourselves some slack but most importantly, we all need to look out for each other. No one is an island and we will not get past this, or the next thing, and the next thing, if we don’t work together and look out for each other. We evolved looking out for each other. If we didn’t, we would have not survived and the same is true today.

Be kind and compassionate to yourself and everyone and everything else, including the planet and the animals. We are all in this together. In the meantime:

WEAR A MASK and do it properly covering your nose.

DISTANCE if you are out or socializing with others (a crucial part of de-stressing).

WASH YOUR HANDS.

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.

WORK ON YOUR OVERALL HEALTH

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷