Day 326

 January 30, 2021

The Waiting is a song by Tom Petty. Some of the lyrics are: 

"The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part"

The song is about love, but these words seem to be relevant to many people these days. As I talk with colleagues and friends and family the conversation is initially consumed by the current state of our pandemic world, but eventually the glimmer of hope shines through in words...words with hope that things will one day be as they were before March 12, 2020. Before the world was shut down by an invisible virus that has to this date infected some 102,848,125 people and taken the lives of  2.2 million.

As these graphs show we have not done a good job of preventing the transmission of the virus or the virus was too powerful, too widespread and too easily transmitted. Either way this graph tells the story.

So we wait. We hope. Some pray. The waiting, is indeed, the hardest part. This is not to discount the suffering many have gone through and continue to go through, but they are waiting too. 

Waiting for change and safety and freedom. Waiting for a not-so-distant past to once again be our future.

There is good news on the horizon as vaccines continue to be distributed and new vaccines are being created (Johnson and Johnson being the latest). The latest daily numbers are decreasing and many governments are taking the virus more seriously and restrictions are helping. Ultimately, it may be up to us. The reason the virus spreads is human transmission. Can we do more to stop the spread?

If you believe you can then you will, but there are those who are in a different category. These are people who either do not feel the virus is that bad (no worse than the flu) or frankly not real. Those that fall under this heading are being fed misinformation or believe the conspiracy theorists or are gathering information from social media rumors.

This must be taken into account when we realize we are all in some way fighting this virus or spreading it. According to an article in the Scientific American, "experts suggest that what happens next depends on both the evolution of the pathogen and of the human response to it, both biological and social."

No matter your opinion on the virus it will continue until one of several things occur. These are some of the possibilities:

Herd immunity: Most people contract the virus and become immune, thus making it unlikely to spread amongst the few who are not immune. "Ultimately, in most cases, antibodies developed by the immune system to fight off the invader linger in enough of the affected population to confer longer-term immunity and limit person-to-person viral transmission. But that can take several years, and before it happens, havoc reigns." -The Scientific American

Containment: This is the one that depends on may factors such as the noted above the evolution and transmission of the virus and the response by humans. The original SARS outbreak was contained and resulted in some 8,000 cases and some 770 deaths. That virus did show symptoms quicker and people were less contagious early on. Once they were symptomatic they were quarantined thus helping containment. 

Vaccine effectiveness: The vaccine does its job and enough people develop immunity long enough to stop the transmission of the virus.

Because the end relies on roughly 50% social-political influence and 50% scientific (vaccine) the end will probably not really be an end. 

Meaning the virus will survive, but not as a global plague. 

Yes, one day the pandemic will end. The virus will stay. For many of us we may never be infected, but all of us are affected.  The year 2020 has left its stamp on us and each time a new virus strain is found some panic will breathe its way into our hearts and minds. 

Maybe we will learn from this, maybe not. 

Either way, our current reality is waiting. And then, accept the outcome and when the restrictions are lifted and the pandemic officially ends be mindful of the lessons learned and take better care to prevent transmission of any kind. By being smarter and healthier. By taking better care of each other. 

 

Day 319

 January 23, 2021

Recently I discovered these words by Nelson Rockefeller:

"We live in an age of revolutionary transformation. We can seek to shape it or we can doom ourselves to irrelevance. We can accept the challenge to our creativity or we can resign ourselves to ineffectual bitterness. We can lose ourselves in passionate and paralyzing controversy over technical aspects of individual problems, or we can, as I deeply believe we must, develop a more creative perspective—one which enables us to see the inner relationship of great issues and the larger framework within which they can be solved."

They written in 1968, but seem appropriate for these times.

The challenge we face as a country is to do what Rockefeller believed, "develop a more creative perspective". We as a country must see what is happening and find the perspective of others and understand it. The way our democracy is set up there will always be different opinions. Freedom is what this nation was founded on. Unfortunately it was also founded on revolution and that is the part people are clinging to. We need to revolt in 1776. It was necessary to gain freedom from a oppressive government, but these days people are taking their freedom into a violent tilt. 

The new president has started his tenure with 17 new actions, many designed to reenact policies once disbanded by the previous administration. Others are targeting the current issues of our world (pandemic, climate and racial injustice).

Since January 20th the world seems more peaceful. Is peace really attainable? The people of the United States will have their eye on president Biden and his staff. The world will also be watching the soap opera that has been ongoing in this country. There are many questions still to be answered in regard to the pandemic and getting this virus under control is a priority. 

As humans will all seek reassurance and that is something that has been lacking from our lives since March 2020. The need for humans to connect is an innate desire and the virus has created a wall for most human interaction. The current state of the world has brought to the surface many hidden fears and anxieties causing many people to act out in anger or retreat into a solitary lifestyle bereft of human contact and the reassurance we all require. 

As we thread our way through this life we all have doubts about ourselves, regrets for things we have done and many live in quiet desperation for the hope of what may never come about. With the smallest of gestures and few words, one person may have a profound affect on another by offering them reassurance. Either a shoulder to lean on, an ear to hear their voice or an empathetic understanding that they are not in this alone. 

We share these deep feelings of uncertainty and can be a valuable resource to those who carry the weight so heavily that it brings them to their emotional knees. When we provide even the most banal words of comfort we are offering the hope and reassurance that things will be alright. The current times may seem bleak and our patience wear thin, but things will change and the future holds a certainty that all of us can endure with a little help from our fellow humans. 

George Washington Burnap said, "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

It is in something to hope for that allows us to keep on keeping on amidst the turmoil, pain and suffering that life can be. And when someone, a human like us, can offer us words of hope we can see another side of life. One that offers love and laughter, joyful experiences and unparalleled beauty. 

Sometimes we just need a little kindness and other times we need a swift kick in the ass. Either way the results can be beneficial to our human spirit. In the movie Rocky Balboa, Rocky speaks to his son and provides his son with a verbal kick in the ass. Let Rocky be your inspiration!

Day 312

 January 16, 2021

The world is continuing to spiral through it's battle with COVID-19 as variants of the virus have popped up in a handful of countries including the US where death totals account for 20% of the world totals which to this date has surpassed two million. 

As the United States awaits the January 20th transfer of presidential power many sit with anticipation of what will occur that day and what the future holds for the nation. The hope is the new administration will usher new safety measures in defense of the spread of coronavirus and facilitate a speedy process of vaccination. 

President-elect Biden revealed his 1.9 trillion dollar stimulus plan which has allocated funds to improve the distribution of both vaccines as well as putting money into the bank accounts of many Americans  while energizing the economy with small business relief and school funding.  There are several other proposals inside the large health care and economic relief package. 

“Thirty-five, forty, forty-five, fifty, fifty-five, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, and ten makes one dollar.”
Al Johns
May 5, 1956

Locally here in Colorado things are moving slowly. Vaccinations have only occurred in 4% of the population. Restaurants have been given the option for dining in at 25% capacity and most school districts are running at some form of in person teaching. My friend Jim called me today to say he was on his way to a movie theater in which he would be socially distanced from the other three patrons. 

If indeed we are to depart from this pandemic with our sanity intact we must draw deep from our well of fortitude and continue strongly in pursuit of patience and victory. As the late, great German poet of the 19th century,  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said,

“One must be something in order to do something.”

We must be something and specifically something more than what we currently are. We must be better at understanding. We must be better at forgiving. We must be better at enduring.

There is still so much to do in order heal the fractured world. In order to repair the human race. In order to unite the divided and reconstruct the world.  To do these many things we must be something more than we have ever imagined. There is more at stake than the economy and the exchange of goods and services. There is the delicate nature of the human mind. 

The collective trauma the world has bore for the past 312 days has taken it's toll. Before it is all said and done the pandemic will be more than many can bear. The world is in daily mourning for those lost and continues to be mired in political and financial dire straits.

The leaders and experts of our world have handled and mishandled the virus from the beginning and as the situation unfolds before us, the aftermath is yet to come. What will the total devastation look like?

 

The end of this pandemic is still many months away and while we see glimmers of hope and dream of a time of normalcy there is still much for us to BE and much for us to DO.

  

Day 305

 January 9, 2021

This is 2021. What kind of year will it be? If the first week is any indication then it appears as though it will be similar to 2020. It seems the tear in the fabric of democracy is still ripping it's way through our nation.

The world looks on in awe and shock as the events of this past week unfolded. The days and weeks leading up to January 6th were like a grenade rolling towards us and on Wednesday it exploded inside the Capitol. I will not rehash the insanity that ensued and the barbarity which occurred. Instead I will remind us of a time where the future looked bleak...1933... and how a new president changed our feelings of hopelessness to hopefulness and repaired our country.

The four months between Franklin D. Roosevelt taking office from Herbert Hoover saw two men who had different views on how to run the country.  While the world was watching Adolf Hitler take reign in Germany and Japan leave the League of Nations, the United States were in the midst of a depression as many banks were shut down and unemployment rose to 20 percent.

The economic crisis of 1932-33 showed large inequalities within our nation just as the pandemic has revealed these inequalities in 2020. I venture to say they are always there, but are brought to light when the country is in calamity. 

The passing of power in 1933 was not easy as Hoover did everything he could to oppose the actions  proposed by Roosevelt. Hoover insisted the economy was soon to be on the rise with his program, but Roosevelt was insistent and garnered his own plan through the advice of many experts. In creating his New Deal, Roosevelt was able to make progress during the first 100 days in office.

A sculpture of Roosevelt and his dog, Fala, are pictured here. Just one part of the fdr-memorial in Washington, DC.

President Roosevelt even coined the phrase, "first 100 days" and it continues to be a time measurement of the effectiveness of our new president. 

Thirteen laws were enacted in those first 100 days in 1933 and Roosevelt made himself available to the people. He was transparent and gave them insight into his plan to resurrect the economy. He began his famous fireside chats which deeply engrained his trust with the people. And once banks reopened the people deposited the money they had withdrawn giving a boost to the economy and the stock market.

Roosevelt addressed the needs of the poor with his Federal Emergency Relief Administration which was involved in the birth of projects, including construction, professional work opportunities in the arts and further production of goods. While tending to the poor and supplying jobs he was able to boost the economy and re-build the confidence people had not only in the government, but in themselves. 

In his inauguration speech before 100,000 people, Roosevelt addressed the Depression with the famous words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

And while fear has reared it's head again there is a real virus causing physical suffering and death. We must reach down deep to find the resolve needed to overcome our fears and doubts while dealing with this virus and pandemic. We can be hopeful, but we must be more. We must endure, but inspire to do more. We must create our freedom dreams and not only see the change we want, but be the change.

It will not be easy. This year may feel much like its predecessor until we can empower ourselves, support one another and unite in a way that provides us with the healing and love needed to crush this virus and sent it back to the hell in which it came.  

Day 298

 January 2, 2021

Two nights ago everyone in the world gave 2020 a high spirited send off. Our hope for a better year is needed more than usual after the year we struggled through. We all wish there was some magical way to transform this current year into immediate peace and normalcy, but the truth is we are still months from that reality.  

Our current reality is we are in a pandemic and barely in the early stages of ushering the vaccine to the public.

The health care workers and first responders have received the first of two shots and most states are continuing to create protocols for how the vaccine is distributed. There is much more than simple distribution as the vaccine is delicate and needs to be handled correctly and given properly. All this falls on the already taxed health care workers and requires patience and responsibility from everyone involved in either giving or receiving the vaccine.

We also recently have had a new strain of virus (first seen in the U.K.) that is now currently in a few states. 

There is also a matter of the new president being sworn into office on January 20th. 

This will require some adjustment time as the new regime puts into place it's vision for America. This not only includes controlling the spread of the virus and the vaccine distribution, but also the pandemic restrictions and everything else related to the pandemic. This will be several months of rolling changes as the vaccine begins to reduce numbers and people begin to settle back into pre-pandemic routine. 

Yet amid all this there is still much that is unknown. Many factors are still at play here and we are still in some ways tethered to this coronavirus until it is completely or mostly eradicated. 

In some psychological and even physical sense we will never be rid of the virus. Many lives have been changed and humans will carry feelings with them and others the physical repercussions of having the actual virus.  

There is also a matter of the economy and issues around racial inequality that continue to plague our nation in ugly forms. And we still have an education system that has been handcuffed and the education of many youth has been stunted. 

Our hope lies in the new president and his staff to forge a new way and provide not only relief but more importantly belief that our United States of America can once again be united and a positive force in the world.

As far as the world is concerned we all hope in future months ahead that travel restrictions will be lifted and the world can reunite in a way that brings joy to vacationers and profit to the tourism industry and boost the economy of all countries.

In light of all that has happened, is happening and will happen we still have ourselves to care for and self-care starts with your feelings. I recently read about emotional brain training. In other words we have the power to create a resilient brain through to power of our emotions. It turns out positive thinking is not all it's cut out to be and stress can make us stronger. It is by using our emotions to we allow ourselves to clear the stress. Our lives are coded in ways that are learned in the first few years of our life. Thus this programming comes back in times of stress because it is what we know, and all we know. Like emotional wires that are there unconsciously and guide our reaction to trauma and stress even if it does not help. By having an emotional cleanse when you feel stressed you can reprogram your brain to learn techniques to help you sort out the feelings and bend them to your will. The will to use these moments as emotional training and rewiring your outcomes to be positive. It is best explained in this article from psychology today:

"In a few minutes throughout the day give yourself an EBT "mini-emotional cleanse" by using the technique of the method. Start off by complaining about the situation (e.g., All this information about vaccines and testing is stressing me out) and then, express some healthy anger. Anger is essential because it is only when we become highly stressed that we unlock the unconscious expectations that are "stupid" or "unreasonable" in our unconscious mind, and make them "smart" or "reasonable."


It's a natural cleansing process as after anger, you can flow through a few negative emotions (sadness, fear, and guilty) and be rewarded by intensely positive feelings (grateful, happy, secure, and proud).

In those few moments, you have a complete reset of your emotions, drives, thoughts, and sensations. And, you have updated your brain so your unconscious expectations are smarter and more reasonable, which decreases your stress. Last, you will feel a surge of dopamine and endorphins – and the emotion of joy."

 For further reading on emotional cleansing click this link emotional-cleanse