Day 179

 When I wrote in my blog last week the world had reached 25 million cases of coronavirus and 847,000 deaths. In one weeks time we have transmitted and verified 1.9 million more cases, but unfortunately only a few thousands deaths. The total stands around 880,000 on Sunday afternoon. 

It is safe to stay nothing has changed. Last night on our way to pick up dinner we saw many people walking around the streets on their way to here or there. A bar/club we passed had folks spilling out the door and waiting in line. Mostly people under 30. Most were wearing masks, but who know what the situation was inside. With people drinking I highly doubt they are masked. I have no idea of the ventilation in this place. This is happening all over the world. The youth of today spreading the death of tomorrow. Since the re-opening of college campuses. 

"many across the country have seen an increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks as students return for the fall semester. The potential spread of the virus off-campus has deeply affected workplaces, schools, governments and other institutions in local communities. In the U.S., at least 51,000 coronavirus cases and at least 60 deaths from the virus can be traced to American colleges and universities..."

The U.S., Brazil, India, Argentina and Spain continue to be hotbeds for the virus.  This chart explains the last seven days.

 With Brazil and the U.S. having over 250,000 new cases in one week it is awfully apparent neither country has leadership tasking the pandemic seriously. The lack of control in the U.S. is rampant as the numbers indicate. In the case of India (with over 550,00 new cases in one week) it is a matter of space and population. There is no place for the people to go, to quarantine to stay socially distant. 

We are currently in a remote school system where all kids are home and staff are either teaching from home or from their classroom. The school hallways are eerily quiet. On Friday, Maren was one of only three adults in her building. We are anticipating a switch to a hybrid format in the middle of October. All the details of this change have not yet been shared with staff and we are still a month away.

A lot can change in a month. I heard Colorado is the second highest tourist destination in the U.S. for Labor day weekend. First is Orlando, FLA.

"So, life goes..and so, I go...carry on my brother" -Neal Cassady (of the famed beat generation)

As Billy PIlgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five repeats each time he sees a person deceased, "so it goes"

And although this Billy Joel song is about loss of love. Some may say "loss is loss"...

Billy Joel- And so it goes

Day 158

 Today is Sunday August 16, 2020

With the beginning of our 2020-21 school year starting officially and virtually this Tuesday I will be blogging only on Sunday. It will be an account of the events which occurred during the week. So friends enjoy today and we'll see you in a week. 

The pandemic continues to handcuff us in many ways, but we were able to enjoy pedicures and dinner out at La Cueva tonight. It is a pleasant break from the mundane when these small victories occur, but this pandemic always in the back of our minds, feels at times, never-ending.

Yesterday marked four years since we lost our beloved cat Cassady. How fast the time flies? Or does it? The six months of this pandemic are not flying by.

Which brings me to the concept of time. What is it really? It's truly something to wonder and a mystery that has evaded humankind for...well,.. all time. Are it's only constraints are the clocks we use to keep it? What would life feel like if we didn't keep time?  Would day and night have a difference besides the light the sun provides?

We have heard the expression before; time is of the essence. And it is an ever-relevant expression because time only travels in one direction, forward. So it is essential we utilize the time we have as it does run out for each of us at some point. Time can feel slow or fast, nonetheless it moves on in its relativity. 

According to young science journal, 

"Newton believed that the nature of time was independent of our existence; time has and will always exist." But then along comes Einstein and this,

"Einstein’s fundamental principle regarding time — there is no ‘right answer’, as there is no absolute conception of ‘now’ in absolute time and space. Einstein turned the whole concept of time on its head. The implications of his theory of having no absolute frame of reference changed the way physicists looked at the world, forcing them to renounce their Newtonian beliefs. If there was no concept of ‘now’, then the actions you perform tomorrow, and the days after that, already exist. The future becomes predetermined."

Put that in your pandemic pipe and smoke it!

(Shout out to Gandalf and middle earth fans everywhere) 

This is where the subconscious mind comes into play. Projected thoughts on what your future will be can be manifest by said thoughts and correct decisions made at the right time in your future. The universe will draw to you the opportunity to achieve your goals, the goals you crave with unwavering desire and continually work for, if only you see the risk and seize it. Because most people allow fear to prevent them from reaching their goals. They "live in quiet desperation" as Emerson said.

Earl Nightingale, a purveyor of positive thought, had two goals in life. One was to discover the secret to success the other was to write books. From a young age he wanted to know what made some people rich and others poor. (He grew up poor in Long Beach, California) You can read about his story here: https://www.success.com/earl-nightingales-greatest-discovery/

He discovered the secret in the words written by Napoleon Hill, in the book Think and Grow Rich. The words were "We become what we think about"

He went on to write books, the most famous of which is called The Strangest Secret. Aptly named because, he pondered, how could such a simple truth not be known by the vast majority of humans?

He concluded and observed that most people spend their time thinking about what they don't have (complaining) or once had (reminiscing). Instead they ought to be conjuring up their successful future (predetermined or not).