Day 362

 March 6, 2021

"This is the end, my only friend, the end" - Jim Morrison 

I always knew one day I would end this blog. I started this blog on March 5, 2020 and I am ending it here today on the day in which I received my second vaccination shot. I am currently sitting in my living room with the chills and aches. I am experiencing a reaction from the vaccine I received eleven and a half hours ago. So after one year of battling this coronvirus and after receiving my second vaccine I am feeling something that feels like a flu. During the entire year I had no symptoms. I did not even catch a cold. 

And now here I sit. Fatigued and a bit weird. I suppose it should have been expected.

It has been a wild ride. The year 2020. Unlike any year I have ever experienced. The fear. The confusion. The uncertainty. The adaptations. The weirdness. The hopelessness. The events that occurred in 2020 beyond the pandemic (which would have been enough) shaped this year and made it one of the most tumultuous years in our history. Experts compared it to 1968. and 1918. The truth is this year was it's own. Transcending all previous history in it's own way. It became a year of loss (economic and trust), death (over 2 million to the virus alone, but we must not forget George Floyd and many other pointless deaths from corruption, racism, ignorance and terrorism). Most of all it was a year of fear and hopelessness. Humans were afraid. Afraid to leave their homes, go to work, go to school, ride the bus, have dinner outside, even go outside. Many lost money, jobs, homes, family, friends and hope. They lost hope in the ability of humans to care for each other. The first responders and essential workers aside. Many people refused to follow restrictions and many lives were lost. Many worlds were shattered and still over a year later it continues. (Some 400K new cases in the world yesterday) 

Was it inevitable? Unstoppable? 

We may never know. We can only hope we never have to face one again. But therein is where so much loss of hope stems from. What is stopping the virus from continuing or coming back next year? 

The vaccine has done it's job, but many are unvaccinated and many refuse to be vaccinated.

How and when will it end? Or will it. Jim Morrison said, "This is the end" but when I see it I will believe it. Hope exists for me. It is what I hold onto because it is important to have something to hope for. A future. A future self in which we can once again live freely. Unrestricted. Untethered. 

Boundless. Bold and free. To fly. To soar. To be every bit of human we can be. And to find [the genius and the power and the magic that boldness is] My paraphrase attributed to Goehte, but some have their doubts.

I leave you with words I did write so may years ago when hope and freedom was all I sought. 

I am undaunted with hopes to conquer. There is freedom on the tip of my tongue.

In 2021 I will hope, conquer fear and be free. Good luck to all of you. Thanks to those that read...the journey continues

Day 354

 Today is Saturday February 27, 2021

We are in a phase of the pandemic where vaccinations are being administered daily. Number of transmissions and deaths are dropping (but still are in large numbers) The world for the most part just seems to have adapted to the pandemic lifestyle. We have multiple masks in multiple places (cars, home, handbags, backpacks, jacket pockets) We work with masks, walk with masks, we sanitize and wash our hands more than we ever have before. In some cases I imagine people have resigned themselves to a possible future that is always like this. Experts have said the virus will most likely never go away. 

Which means we will probably have a choice for a seasonal vaccine each year. The mask culture will wane in a way where less people will feel the need once the virus numbers are very low. While others will see wearing a mask as a line of protection against not only the virus, but any germs they may encounter in largely populated events or circumstances that feel unsafe. I imagine a world where air travel may be down for a some time and travel in general may become less frequent. 

The evolution of the world is natural. Things change. Our climate has and will continue to do so. Our technology is changing rapidly. Our societal norms are even shifting. Even how people view themselves and accept others is an ever changing process.

And as the generations of old pass on the younger generations will view all of life from their perspective and further develop and create the world how they see it. 

We, ourselves, are not the same person we were five, three or even a year ago. 

As we discover the ever changing world we further discover ourselves and we adapt to what we experience on both small and large levels. The experiences we encounter shape who we become, but ultimately we can choose to some extent which experiences we want and more importantly how we perceive them. Viktor Frankl said, in regards to this..."Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

This pandemic will most likely change the world to some extent and how we perceive certain aspects of life (travel, crowds, sanitization, health habits, etc) as the pandemic itself is changing. 

The pandemic is likely to become an endemic similar to Influenza and other human coronaviruses. 

This seems inevitable, but the path it takes and the pattern it tattoos onto our world is a mystery to scientists. 

There are some theories. One is it could become a virus mostly seen in the young with milder symptoms or even none at all. The idea the virus being completely eradicated could occur in pockets of the world where a higher percentage (55+%) are vaccinated. However getting to 55% is proving difficult in most places. And if all social distancing restrictions were lifted the percentage would need to be closer to +65%.

With a vaccine that prevents transmission and can hold off variants it is possible the virus becomes akin to measles (mostly eliminated in most parts of the world with two shots). There is also the chance this is not the last coronavirus we see. So Love a lot. Live each day with passion and meaning. And adapt as only we humans can. Keep discovering. 

Day 347

 It is February 20, 2021

Recently when conversing with people about 2020 many have said the time since March 12, 2020 (the day the pandemic became official) has either been in slow motion (2020 felt like forever) or it has sped up (where has the time gone?). This concept of time is one we are familiar with. We keep track of it with clocks, watches and calendars. We know it has ties to space (the moon revolves around the earth) and yet we often do not understand it. The mystery many times is the question of where did the time go?

The general theory of relativity says time began some 13.7 billion years ago when all matter was crammed into one very small dot.  And if theory holds true further development of space may cause the universe to collapse and we would find ourselves inside that tiny dot again. That would truly signal the end of time.

But until then time ticks on...

Besides age we rarely know what happens when time passes. We use events in our life to gauge time such as birthdays, weddings, births and deaths. 

Maybe we ought to pay less attention to it. This article from Discover Magazine tells us many scientist are not sure time even exists. The Arrow of Time

 "According to a theoretical physicist, Dmitry Podolsky, now working on aging at Harvard University, and Robert Lanza from Wake Forest University explain how the arrow of time — indeed time itself — is directly related to the nature of the observer (that is, us)."  They theorize that time is not ticking away ("the moments that make up the dull day"-Pink Floyd) but instead a real property that is subject to the perception of the individual and their ability to preserve events in their life. 

So if we could observe the future we could see ourselves how we wish to be instead of always remembering how we were (thus giving power to time) 

Look five years into the future and see yourself.  Better yet have a conversation with your future self. 

Find out who you want to be and how you got there. Benjamin Hardy, says "You need to learn to want and focus on what your future self wants. You do that by imagining and thinking now about who you want your future self to be." 

Most people are fixed in their desires and see themselves as a person who cannot change (like a personality test or a horoscope tells us what kind of person we are) This fixed mindset does not allow for growth, let alone change. Abraham Lincoln said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it"

Many of us want change in our lives, but simply do not know how to acquire it. The key is looking at your future and understanding that your outcomes depend upon your desires. If you change your current desires to reflect your future outcomes you will begin to see yourself as the person you want to be not the person you are. 

According to Dr. Daniel Gilbert, “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished.”

I realize as I finish my blog today it is not really a blog about the pandemic. and I am okay with that because my future self is no longer wallowing in the frustration and depression of a pandemic world.

My future self is free to choose my feelings, desires and ultimately create my outcomes no matter what is going on in the world around me. Life still continues...pandemic or not. 

An old proverb says, time waits for no man (or woman), but I say your future is waiting for you.

See it now and you will be it in the future.

Good Luck.

Day 340

 February 13, 2021

What is going on in the world is not nearly as important as what is going on in your world. 

Take care of yourself. Take care of your people. Don't be an asshole. Those are the rules given to the sons of my friend Scott. It's a good start.

Fleshing it out I would say...take care to be true to your authentic self. Live your life uncompromised by restraints and uninfluenced by conformity. Take care of your soul. Allow it to soar unless it sour.

Take care of those your love because they (and you) will not be around forever. Cherish the time you spend with friends and family and make it quality time. 

Don't be an asshole. Well, I would say be who you want to be. (if being an asshole is what you desire so be it) I believe in individuality and the will to choose your own path. If being an asshole affects others then you ought to reconsider how your individuality is being directed. 

The world is the world. It moves in flux with all the energy of living things. Currently the world is moving to heal itself from the state it finds itself. In a pandemic and battling a virus so deadly nearly 2.4 million people have died and over 100 million have suffered in some capacity from being infected by the novel coronavirus. The world is issuing a series of vaccines as we slowly move towards a world without restrictions. The world moans and sighs and screams and dreams as humanity lives and dies upon this great sphere of existence.

You and your journey are part of the existence. Your suffering and your exultation are stops on the existential path you are navigating. The experiences of life build upon one another as you create the current version of you. And that version will continue to permute as you evolve and grow after each experience. 

This pandemic is an experience and we will not soon forget it. What will it teach us? How will you grow from it? What lessons will you extract from it? 

Our beliefs influence our attitudes which create our feelings and those feelings direct our actions.

We may very well be instituting new beliefs into our programming. (by the way if you are not reprogramming yourself every so often you are doing yourself a disservice) and the belief of how we view the world and those in it. Our future interactions could look different in 2021-2022. 

Yesterday Chick Corea died. Chick Corea was an architect of the jazz-rock fusion boom in the 1970s, spent more than a half-century as a top jazz pianist. His influences are many and if you have never heard his work it is jazz you ought to give a listen. He played with many jazz greats and his most famous band Return to Forever can be heard here:

Chick Corea

On this valentines eve drink a little wine, give a lot of love and listen to something that stirs your heart and brings joy to your soul. From the Saturday Evening Post in 1956, a cover by Richard Sargent entitled First Valentine.

Day 333

 Today is Saturday February 6, 2021

The vaccination distribution for the coronavirus is underway. We currently have two versions in play and a third, Johnson and Johnson is pending FDA approval. The world is being inoculated as we speak albeit at a slower pace then we had hoped. Partly due to the demand being more than the supply. 

The procedure of getting people scheduled and vaccinated takes time, people, money and vaccines.

This chart shows the numbers in the US. 

The CDC recommends who ought to be vaccinated and then each state creates their own version of it. 

Currently in Colorado educators were moved up the list along with the 65 and older group. Both are set to begin receiving their first vaccine on Monday February 8th. How long the process will take remains to be seen. 

Nonetheless, the creation of a vaccine and current US presidency gives hope for all Americans to begin to see a light coming through what has been a long dark tunnel. Many school districts are considering a model of full in person teaching and businesses are opening in the 25-50% capacity range. The latest news on another stimulus check comes with mixed feelings, but I imagine most people will gladly welcome the funds even as a way to give reparations for the hardships and discomfort the public has had to endure. Though many who are living paycheck to paycheck see it as security and a peace of mind they have never had. 

The president is being generous with his power. With his ability to lead. And with his genuine care for the well being of the people who inhabit the nation he guides.

The current president, Joe Biden, has shown concern and has taken measures to provide assurance to the people.  Most importantly, he has shown them attention.  It is this attention that is giving people a feeling of hope. A feeling we have not felt in some time.

The French philosopher and writer. Simone Weil, wrote, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity". 

Simone Weil, was born in Paris in 1909, swiftly became a writer (although her work was not published in book form during her lifetime) and advocate for the oppressed within society. Using the essay as her tool as well as her servitude in the front lines (she once spent a year working in Parisian factories to better understand the oppression of unskilled female laborers). Through her writing and actions she was able to be a great voice for the voiceless and continued to stand with those who would be crushed under the boot heel of the capitalism.

For more on this amazing women, whom author Albert Camus said she was, “the only great spirit of our times” click this link simone weil

The world in general seems to be trending in the right direction even though some variant strains of the virus are a cause for concern. Most experts believe the vaccine will cover the variant as well. And early results seem to show the vaccines are robust and helping. Death totals are dropping, but whether or not the vaccine can actually stop the spread is undetermined. 

Much still is unknown as to how the vaccine will ultimately affect COVID-19 and the pandemic. 

When that word is lifted from our daily vernacular we will all celebrate and breath (safely and possibly unmasked) a collective sigh of relief even if it is from six feet apart.