big realization - silver lining #5

Flattening the curve is the effort to extend the lockdown period to ease the strain on the healthcare system and save more lives.  However, this effort results in a longer economic lock-up because we all need to stay home for a longer period of time to protect ourselves and others from becoming infected.  

The big quandary governments across the world are grappling with in this worldwide health crisis is the fine line between valuing each individual life and the need to protect their economies.  Each one of them is coming up with its own slightly different version.  Governor Cuomo famously said, ”My mother is not expendable,” to make a point about his highest value, each human life.

Here in the US, the Corona pandemic raises the question how the most vulnerable among us, those without health insurance, those without sick leave, those who lost their service jobs right away and have no savings, those whose children are home from school but work on the frontlines,  will survive this crisis.  And with it goes the question how valuable we would find their services if they were sick and gone?  Destitute and gone?   Dead and gone?  What would we do without delivery services, cleaning personnel, restaurant waiters, and all the other many service providers that make our economy go round and round?

Will this health crisis break the camel’s back? Will people realize that universal healthcare is a pretty smart idea? That a social safety net is better for everybody? 

Does your government have your back, or is it throwing you under the bus?  Does your government favor corporations at the expense of your life and wellbeing? Does your government tell you “to eat cake” when you say “I don’t have bread,” as out-of-touch Marie-Antoinette told her destitute population before the French Revolution?  What’s the highest value of the people you elected?  

a better diet? - silver lining #4

From observing where the shelves at the supermarkets have been empty, people have been stocking up on ice cream, chips, dried and canned beans, rice and pasta, meat, and toilet paper of course. The produce sections are always fully stocked!  

Leafy greens, lots of vegetables, less meat, raw fresh salads, not much sugar and baked goods, has generally been a generic recipe for good health.  

The big message here is that what’s actually available is what’s healthiest to eat.  We have heard from up high that there is no disruption in the food distribution chain.  Relax and shop and eat your fill.  And maybe, just maybe, shift your eating habits to that which is not only available in abundance but also healthier, and which boosts your immune system.

Sorry, I can’t help you with the toilet paper.  No silver lining there if you’re out, although there is no shortage of water.  Perhaps we can save some trees in the long run.

Be well and stay healthy!

forced slow down - silver lining #3

The slow down came so fast.  Ten days ago, we ended a fairly normal work week by going out for burgers to a local place, although the atmosphere already felt a bit frayed.  This week much of our world has come to a standstill.  We’re in lockdown, our work has slowed and shifted, and we’re working and studying from home until further notice – timeframe uncertain and unknown.  Restaurants and bars, gyms, public events and places, and all non-essential businesses are closed.  No place to go, no money to spend, no friends to visit.  Customers don’t want to see us.  Besides, most of them are working from home as well.  Reaching one of them on his cellphone yesterday, he told us he was out walking his dog.  

If you’re in healthcare, government or education, or working in any business considered essential, such as shipping, groceries or liquor stores, you’re of course super busy to permit everyone else to stay safe or sane.  Thank you for that.

But for the rest of us, the world is all of a sudden hushed, like the big city during a snowstorm, when the sounds are muffled and nobody is out and about.  Work and life have slowed, people seem kinder, a bit more understanding. We’re all in the same boat, and there is togetherness in that. 

Usually we live such fast paced and frenetic lives, checking our phones round the clock lest we miss an important business related message for fear of not meeting someone’s equally impatient expectations.   Now we have time to catch our breath, time to walk the dog in the middle of the day, time to ratchet the frenzy down a few notches, time for the kids, time to cook a meal, time to catch up on sleep, time to ……whatever.  

During this lockdown, while homebound except for occasional grocery shopping or a few other unavoidable errands, my world has shrunk to my immediate surrounds, spending time with my nuclear family, tending to the garden or going for a walk to clear my head and gain perspective on this dystopian black swan event, or doing some homebound activities. The slow down gives me time to appreciate the simple things in life, those I brush off when life is fast, whether it’s the beauty of an emerging spring flower in the garden, my college age daughter’s unexpected presence and smile, the taste of the dinner I made, the kind and comforting phone call from a friend, or even the funny memes I find on social media that fill my life with some much needed lightness.  

How has the lockdown affected your life?  Consider looking back at earlier posts “the little things” and “what makes me happy” for a grounding perspective.  May you be well and stay healthy!

environmental wake-up - silver lining #2

As a result of the world’s cessation of polluting activities in reaction to the Coronavirus pandemic, Beijing’s pollution levels have drastically dropped and the waters in Venice’s canals are markedly cleaner.  

Along those lines is a post from climate activist Greta Thunberg’s Facebook page about the unintended proof to ourselves that we, as inhabitants of one planet, are capable of coming together in a massive effort  when the motivation and will are there.  

from Greta Thunberg’s Facebook page

Could a shake-up out of our inertia towards climate change and all the other related environmental quagmires become an unintended but much needed side effect of the worldwide virus pandemic?   

moving mountains - silver lining #1

This is the first of several posts examining the silver lining underneath the worldwide Corona virus crisis, and there are many as you will see over the next posts.  

This virus, came out of nowhere - they call it a black swan event. in December it appeared in China and barely three months later it has engulfed the entire world. The public’s reaction, and the many governments’ actions, demonstrate what an enormous motivator fear is.  But the effects and repercussions demonstrate the enormity of what we can achieve when we all come together as a human species with one common goal.   

We have been paralyzed by the sheer size of the many problems our planet and species is currently experiencing. The specter of climate change with its innumerable subproblems has been around for how long??????????????   Somehow we have to be hit over the head by nature in order to spring into action.  Well, this virus clearly did that, and this crisis is showing us all how fast we can act when we come together as inhabitants of one planet with one common goal.  No mountain is too high, no crisis too complex.  

Let’s tackle climate change next.  

resilience is key

In the past week or two my thoughts on the New Normal have evolved quite a bit.  Some of my earlier, a bit flippant, assessments on this new virus have been superseded.  But I am also less panicked, accepting that we need to move through this graciously since it’s unavoidable that the virus is spreading across the globe.

So, thoughts on resilience are helpful since you all have access to enough press coverage to stay in a state of suspended and chronic anxiety and that’s not useful.  Instead, let’s talk about cultivating resilience by boosting your own inner defenses, such as courage and strengthening your immune system.  

The toilet paper shortage is a silly symptom of people’s short-term panic reaction.  Since this virus will probably take about 6 months (if not longer) to wash over this country you will need to exist and survive in this new cultural construct for a while. You’ll learn to trust that the shelves in your local supermarket will again be filled with toilet paper and pasta two weeks from now. Exhale……………

Strengthening the host (you, your body and mind), as Liise-ann Pirofski, about whose work as an infectious disease specialist I wrote in an earlier post, puts it,  gives you a sense of empowerment.

Here goes.  Strengthen the host, you, by getting plenty of sleep (easy if you will be working from home), eating plenty of greens (lots of antioxidants) and fresh foods (now is a good time to sign up for a local CSA and support the farmers and your local economy, and do more home cooking),  supplementing (especially lots of vitamin C and D3, perhaps chlorella or other microgreens), getting plenty of fresh air and sunshine, shutting off the news from time to time, and being mindful of your thoughts (fearful thoughts self-prophesize).  None of these constitute new news, really.  But in times like these we may be more motivated to listen to such messages then when we’re endlessly rushing around.  Stop watching doomsday movies and have a glass of wine with a friend instead.  It’s better for your disposition and your immune system.

The other way to develop resilience is by volunteering in your community or helping your elderly neighbors with shopping because you’ll feel useful, you are contributing, and that in turn boosts your immune system as well.  

The effects of this virus on our economy and culture also serve as a mirror.  Some realizations that are turning up are a false fears of scarcity (run on toilet paper), confusion over the truthfulness of the news (learning to distinguish fake from real news), the busyness we have all accepted as a way of life in this country (we are forced to slow down, suspend commuting for a while, and spend more quality time in our nuclear families), and the lack of a social safety net in this country (those without health insurance or sick leave will go to work sick and infect others - potentially you and me).  What do you make of this information?

Be well and stay healthy!

viral thoughts

·      Beijing’s pollution levels are way down.

·      The administration, and the public, will need to acknowledge the validity of science.

·      People are pulling together during difficult times.

·      Be proactive instead of reactive – boost immune system, don’t panic, eat better, get enough sleep, gain perspective (you won’t die, but the world economy will suffer).

·      Consider alternative treatment methods such as antiviral essential oils, we currently have no foolproof treatment method for this virus.

·      We learn how globally connected we are. Physical walls don’t protect us, the virus is coming in via boat and plane.

·      Our immune systems get to practice on new challenges.

·      China bans trade and consumption of wild animals (although not sure how much this will really do, but the awareness of the damage and cruelty of the pangolin and other wild animal trade is rising).

·      Age of transparency – China, Japan, and US leaders are being rebuked for sweeping the importance of this outbreak under the rug, and it’s blowing up in their faces.

·      Virus takes hold in acidic body chemistry environment.  Mmmmhhhh, that means cutting out sugar, starch (potatoes, rice), white flour (pasta, baked goods, pizza, waffles), and eat way less meat.. This is not a new message, these food items, eaten in excess as in the SAD Diet, also cause diabetes, heart disease, inflammation, and possibly promote cancer.  Eat your veggies!

the biggest movement you never heard of

Renewable energies have become very common, everyone talks about organics and goes shopping at farmers markets, and Andrew Yang’s thing was a universal basic income.  If you’re no vegan yourself you surely have several friends who are, and the MeToo Movement and the Weinberg trial are bringing about  a truer conversation about what women’s equality actually means.  But did you know that they all belong to the same bigger conversation, an actual cultural and consciousness shift that bakes them all together under a huge umbrella?

It may be the biggest movement you never heard of.  Ray and Anderson, authors of the 2000 book The Cultural Creatives, called it the “emergence of an entire subculture of Americans (and Europeans, and Japanese, as they point out).  “Because Cultural Creatives are not yet aware of themselves as a collective body, they do not recognize how powerful their voices could be.”  That was 20 years ago, and it seems that they/we are still not aware of how big of a body of change agents they/we collectively are.

Where do you think the sudden rise of a social-democratic movement in this country came from, and Bernie Sanders’ appeal in 2016 and now again?  The self-awareness and passion of this younger generation, other than the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg who already has plenty,  still needs to mature into true activism for change out of self-awareness.  But it’s bubbling up everywhere. It’s encouraging,  but it also rattles an older, more conservative generation that’s apprehensive about change.  

See more posts on this cultural shift – on the incoming Aquarian energy, on Modern Monetary Theory, on new right brain culture, and on the crack in the story, among many more you’ll find in my blog archive.

May you see this new story emerging with excitement, and may you be as inspired as I am.