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 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 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

Day 291

 December 26, 2020

The Last Supper. The Last of the Mohicans. The Last Picture Show.

The Last time I saw Paris. The Last Detail The Last Starfighter.

These are stories, events and films. You are about to read the last blog of...2020.

As we look back on this past year it will be strewn with many disappointments, an unprecedented time where days became weeks and then months of fear, frustration and emotion. We sighed. We cried. 

We lost time, opportunity and human lives. Too much of everything was lost. We stand now on the precipice of a new year and much is still unclear. How long will the pandemic last? How will the vaccine affect the spread of this virus?  The novel coronavirus, labeled COVID-19, which has devastated our social, economic, physical and psychological lives and have given many of us pause for concern of our future world.  The virus came into our world one year ago this month. The gift we never asked for during the most giving time of the year.

During the course of the year 2020 we endured a series of lockdown restrictions ranging from shelter at home to hybrid models of social-distanced interaction. We endured protests and riots after another person of color was unnecessarily killed by a police officer. The world continues in a state of unrest in regards to racial and social equality. The protests went on for weeks and although time can heal; the pain and fear continues for many. The inequality is everywhere. The pandemic was no different as the indigenous people of color and the impoverished were hit the hardest by the virus. Many continued to work in-person and risk infection as essential workers were asked to continue moving products, serving and maintaining status quo as the world around them worked from home and/or had remote access to continued employment. 

We endured a heated presidential election ending in a switch of parties and not surprisingly it came with more protest, more riots and accusations of ballot tampering. A division within one of the strongest in the world, which like many others has failed to control the transmission of the virus.

Many countries have buried thousands of people. Many are still on restriction. Many are still in a  remote learning model, hampering educational systems around the globe.  Many are still in debate over mask wearing and the proper strategies suggested to slow and even stop transmission of the virus.

During the month of March an official pandemic announcement sent the world reeling.  Most schools immediately closed and professional sports were suspended as were many other large gatherings.  Production and distribution was temporarily halted as experts collected intel on what the virus was and how it can be transmitted.  Eventually bans were lifted and modified restrictions were put in place, but life was still quite different and many were still infected leading to too many deaths. The summer promised us more outdoor activities and a relief in regards to the number of infections and deaths. And although this was true the second wave came as predicted and the fall and winter months saw a record number of infections and deaths. Currently the world has experienced 80.2 million infections and suffered 1.7 million deaths. 

So 2021 is days away...

Every new year brings with it hope and resolution. And this year, more than ever. has people praying for the days of yore (well not too long ago-but it feels like forever since this pandemic began). 

Let us all hope this year, 2021, brings us some new stories, events and films such as...

The Last Patient, The Last Vaccine Shot Needed, The Last Lockdown, The Last Pandemic.

The Last of the Viruses.

Day 284

 December 19, 2020

A December to remember. Well, more like a year to remember. Nearly all of the year 2020 has been marred by the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent pandemic which has handcuffed the world and now taken over 1.6 million lives. As we grow closer to the end of the year we are inclined to reflect on the recent past and even sometimes the station that is our current life.  If you are alive and reading this, then in one way, it is a wonderful life. 

The iconic holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and my favorite film noir femme fatale, Gloria Graham tells the story of all of us as we exist though the trials and triumphs of our lives. The film, produced in 1946, was initially a flop and when its copyright was not renewed it was broadcast for free and began airing frequently during the last few weeks of the year and thus became a holiday tradition. (NBC owns its rights and airs it every Christmas eve)

Jimmy Stewart was a WWII fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps and flew some 20 combat missions. Upon his return to Hollywood It's a Wonderful Life was his first film and since he was still grappling with the traumatic experiences of war and feeling of loss fellow pilots his emotional scenes where his character, George Baily, is breaking down and crying are all very real. 

The movie is about loss and pain and everyday failure and how many humans sometimes feel like they are at the "end of their rope". George Bailey turns to prayer and the answer to his prayer is an angel named Clarence who goes on to show George how wonderful his life really is even amidst the struggles and setbacks he has endured. As we all reflect on our lives, particularly this past year and how the pandemic has shaped and misshaped our living, consider all the wonderfulness in your life.

Beginning with life itself. Each and every day is a new opportunity to see, act and hope. 

See all the beauty life has to offer you, beyond the seasonal lights, there is natural beauty (like last nights moon) and imperfect beauty (the human body and its intricate workings).

Act in a way that manifests your deepest desires for love, joy and self-worth and then act as if every human you interact with is someone of value. This mortal life is fleeting and frail and we must not forget our time on this earth is limited. Cherish yours and the lives of others.

Hope for all of your wishes and keep hoping (and praying-if you are disposed to do so).

Never let the light go out on your dreams. 

Even beyond this life. Your memory will live on in others. 

Take this time to recall those souls which touched us and moved us in ways we will never forget. 

The dearly departed are with us still in our heart of hearts.

Loved and preserved. 

For the eternity of our lives they live on.

And let us recall the people, we may not know, but we are linked with indelibly everyday as we proceed through these challenging times. The essential workers. Those in day care and nursing homes. Those doctors and nurses caring for our brothers and sister struck with COVID-19. The grocery store workers and all those who continue to supply us with our daily needs. They are amazing humans doing what it takes for all of us to see this through.

May this years end bring you joy and tears and hope 

in a way that inspires you to endure and be more human than you ever thought possible. 

To care and love and cry.

To live and love and laugh.

To be alive.

Day 277

 Saturday December 12, 2020

It is with anticipation and trepidation I await the arrival of the vaccine to the United States. My reasons of anticipation ought to be obvious as we all long for the life we lived prior to the pandemic and the vaccine offers us a great hope for controlling the virus and its prodigious spread. The fear I hold onto is because of the way the pandemic has divided our country and it will continue to be evident as the vaccine becomes available. I believe many people in the U.S. will not vaccinate and the divide will continue as those that long to heal this country will be combatted by the unbelievers and such who did not care to help quell the virus from the onset. Also, it is a matter of the unknown. What side effects will the vaccine bring? Will enough people take it to eradicate the virus within a few months or will the process take longer?

Questions. So much uncertainty. Yet we have hope. And that sure feels good as we approach the new year.

Recently I read an article about Brooklyn and how it has changed through the years. Incorporated in 1834 by the Civil War it had grown to the third largest city in America. A century later it was barely a functioning borough of New York. As neighborhoods began to fall from poverty and crime the nail in the proverbial Brooklyn coffin was the closing of the Navy Yard in 1966. Some 12,000 jobs were lost and many fled to the suburbs leaving behind a Brooklyn ripe for decay. Of course it survived and went through many changes as different ethnicities moved away, gangs dissolved and crime brought under control. The modern movement has brought in a younger clientele and the gentrified Brooklyn we know today is thriving.  The following photos are from Brooklyn in the 1960's. 

1. A diverse neighborhood with a Jewish deli, Chinese restaurant and Italian pizza place side-by-side

2. The workers of the Navy Yard give a thumbs down to the potential closing

3. Two New York Yankees visit neighborhood kids.

Reading of Brooklyn made me think of Walt Whitman, raised in Brooklyn, but born on Long Island, the great poet of his time and beyond. He self-published Leaves of Grass in 1855 and the second edition included the poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry". Whitman was a volunteer nurse during the civil war and later a printer, editor and of course writer for publications such as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the Crescent (in New Orleans) and the Brooklyn Freemen. It is Leaves of Grass, Whitman's view of the world as he sees it, in which we are given 32 poems of Americana. One, I sing the body electric, deeply explores the physical body of man and woman. Whitman also explores purpose and one phrase states, 
"Each has his or her place in the procession.
(All is a procession, the universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)"

We are sometimes in need of reminding what is our place in this universe and how we ought to go about pursuing or spreading our dream to our fellow humans. Pass on to one another cheer, love and the treasures you know to be talents. Build one another up. Praise those that bring you joy when they sing, dance, teach or inspire you to be more than just the a sacred body, but indeed an integral part of this perfectly measured procession of life. Here I am under the Brooklyn Bridge in 2013.

 

Day 270

 December 5, 2020

There is so much going on as the entire world population braces for the holidays, the flu season, and the dead of winter while also anticipating the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. 

Both  Pfizer and Moderna have developed adult vaccines and many people are awaiting the public release and distribution.  As of this writing, Britain has given emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine and will begin distribution on Monday. The U.S. has stricter authorization guidelines and hopes to have the vaccine ready for distribution around mid-December.  A pediatric version is in the making, but it is complicated as children are usually not included in trials (Pfizer began trials in children aged 12 and up in October and Moderna is set to begin testing soon).  There are many who do not approve of testing on children and while that delays the distribution for the vaccine to school age children most experts agree that children do not transmit the virus as readily as adults

Nor do they typically show serious symptoms when they are infected. It seems this information and the fact that teachers will be some of the first offered the vaccine will in all likelihood mark the end of remote teaching starting in 2021.  Most school districts around the world are currently in either a fully remote model or a hybrid version. In the meantime experts are also predicting a massive surge in both cases and deaths in the U.S. by February if people do not take mask wearing and social distancing seriously.  This may scare school boards and district administrations from pushing for in-person education. All of this makes for a very controversial topic.  

We can only wait and see.

In other virus news the second wave of COVID-19 is streaking across the globe. Decimating the European nation and dampening the lives of those in the U.S. Hospitals are near capacity again and shutdown orders are once again in effect and the number of infections and deaths continues to reach mid-April numbers. The death total in the U.S. has exceeded 270,000 and as both infections and hospitalizations continue to rise it makes the coming weeks seem dreary. It appears this may go down in history as the worst holiday season ever. And for those who like to read you may want to look into good-reads-book-worst-holiday-ever

This graph tells the European story.

The first memorial for victims of COVID-19 is being constructed in New Jersey On the site of a former toxic dump, everything is legal in Jersey of all places.

In sports news, Rafer Johnson, the first Black captain of a United States Olympic team and a participant in the1960 Olympic games and gold medal winner in the decathlon has died at 86.

The NFL continues, but not without its COVID-19 cases, quarantines and game delays. We recently has a game on a Wednesday for the firs time in decades. Having bye weeks has helped but those are ending soon and the league will have to get more creative such as the case with mid-week games.  Due to the Wednesday game we will have a second MNF game and a Tuesday night game this upcoming week.

The Rose Bowl, a major college football game, will be played in an empty stadium on Jan. 1.

    

Day 256

Saturday November 21, 2020

I am presently sitting on the couch drinking my usual morning coffee. With Pucci, our long hair dachsund, staunchly lying beside me I begin the quest of writing down not only my thoughts, but an account of the last week. Yesterday we finished remote teaching and look forward to a week off. The vacation time comes with no travel, no family and no celebration. It is a time for us to relax and refuel.

A time to think solely of ourselves while being thankful for those we love and help those in need. This season for us has become less about tradition and more about condition. The situation we find ourselves and how we can be benevolent.  The current reality is we are healthy and fortunate to be working during the pandemic. While much of the world spars with the virus and the rising infection rates, the U.S. is faring no better and in some ways worse. 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in several U.S. states is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. Dante learned in The Divine Comedy to escape hell one must go through the center of it. I suppose as we journey through this pandemic we are in the center of hell and must proceed through it in order to exit.  The suffering will continue.

The nation of the United States of America is in trouble. The divide in this country has caused a separation of thought and cohesiveness.  Our divided states has brought about carelessness instead of unity.  We struggle because we do not care. The pandemic has played its part, our government has a role and so do all of us. We have fought and tried to remain diligent in our fighting, but we have failed. We have failed each other. We will continue to do battle with this coronavirus, but ultimately it will win the war. In fact it already has to the point of 250,000 lives lost.  Humans are survivors and those that live will move on and make adjustments to survive, but the losses will be many and the pain will be much to bear. The holidays will not be the same. The joy will be tinged with a scent of sorrow and hopelessness as we move deeper into the winter and the discontentment that comes with loss. 

So as I sit and write and try to remain present knowing the concepts of past and future have little meaning to the persistent flow of thoughts streaming in my mind. It is verily an ongoing quandary of how we separate the "I" from the "me". Alan Watts, says, "the truth is revealed by removing things that stand in it's light..." and I perceive unawareness as a darkness shrouding our present mindfulness.

Alan Watts describes the mind and it's inability to stop thinking. We think thoughts that are not present and thus those thoughts cause anxiety or fear or pain. Even a joyful thought of our past is really just a piece of our present because we are thinking of it now. And the memory may be cheerful in nature, it reminds us of what is not now and that can trigger sorrow.  In this video Watts explains the only way to stop the mind from thinking is to leave it alone. And thus by leaving it alone, "it will quiet itself" 

Alan Watts - The Mind

Day 249

 Saturday November14, 2020

In her book, Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh talks of the ebb and flow of relationships. It provided fuel to my thoughts of this current time in our lives.  How we have ridden the tides of this pandemic for days, weeks and months and have implemented strategies to stay sane and secure our humanness. We have been shut in, put out and inconvenienced for so long and with no true end in sight. 

Our hopes lie in a vaccine, one not yet created, in which we will not know the impact until massive distribution is complete.  Even then, we will be unassured of complete eradication of this coronavirus which has lived among us for so long. Like the popular game Among us, each of us could be the imposter carrying the virus and infecting others.  We crewmates must navigate this tenuous earth and with each day comes risk.  Some days are safe at home while others are days we feel more exposed. 

We venture through places where others abound and wonder who is a potential carrier. Everyday is an ebb and flow of feelings. Everyday is the ebb and flow of questions. Am I being safe enough? Should I go out today? When will we feel completely at ease? Will the imposter always be among us? 

The ultimate imposter being the virus itself, a parasite feeding off human behavior.  We like to be around each other. We feel the need to gather. We long for human touch. And with this innate desire the ultimate imposter is transmitted throughout the world. In the United States the infection is rate is skyrocketing in nearly every state. New mandates regarding lockdowns, curfews and gatherings are being put in place, yet the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths continues to rise. A recent graph for the NY times shows alarming numbers.

We as a country have reported over 100,000 cases ten days in a row. And the world is faring no better as Italy, Poland, Russia, India and other counties are seeing an increase in cases.  Efforts are being made as many schools have returned to remote learning or will do so after the Thanksgiving break. 

Governments are putting curfews and mandates in place to decrease the amount of human contact, but it seems that enough people are not giving the effort needed. Many still do not social distance nor where a mask. Gatherings, parties and events are still taking place. In India, a five day Hindu festival, Diwali, will be celebrated beginning this weekend. 

People say, "life must go on. We have to live." 

This is something we have never experienced before and having our privileges and freedoms taken from us makes many of us defensive and rebellious.

Yet it comes at a cost. And I suppose some people are okay with that. We are a population of humans who are the same in configuration of cells and organs and senses, but in our minds we are diverse and it is with our thoughts and actions we tell our story. 

We all must playout this pandemic each in our own way. And thus the ebb and flow of it is intertwined with our daily decisions. For better or worse our humanism will be both our greatest triumph and our greatest failure. Here are the words of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 

"We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom..."

Good Luck everyone. There is no doubt this pandemic will leave it's indelible mark on all of us.

May your god, spirit animal or universal subconscious be with you. 

Day 221

 Sunday October 18, 2020

Today we voted. We are hopeful for change. We are hopeful the people who take office can make the changes needed in this country to help us re-establish our nation as one of diversity and unity. A nation which allows immigrants to arrive and thrive here as a true land of equal opportunity for all people. 

The world needs hope now more than ever with a pandemic known to the world as Covid-19 rifling through the planet and making life difficult for most and unbearable for others.  The novel coronavirus has infected nearly 40 million people and taken the lives of over one million.  The world will never be the same.  In our efforts to regulate we have sacrificed time and luxury. Many opportunities have been lost.

Many lives have been shattered. This past month has seen a second wave of infections hit the world and countries devastated early on (France, Spain and Italy) are being ravished again. In the United States the number of daily infections has increased in over 75% of our states. 

 The dire conditions many areas were in during the months of April to July are rearing again. All this as we enter the cusp of flu season. How will this virus and the flu react together? Little is still unknown and a vaccine is still months away.  The school district we currently work in has seen both exposures and positive cases in several schools.  The in-person hybrid model is four days old and only in elementary and middle schools. High schools are set to open this week, but with state infections on the rise and a multitude of quarantines it seems this may be the last week before all goes remote. The challenges of the hybrid model are many and our feeling is it may not have made the impact on those in-person students as hoped. Remote learning certainly is not the answer, but the safety of students and staff is and always should be the precedent. The superintendent will make a decision no later than October 22nd regarding the model we use in the coming months. Needless to say, education has been thwarted by this virus as much as our economy and travel industry if not more so because it affects our future population of working adults and potential world leaders.  Where will we be a year from now?

Maybe school districts around the world will move to year-round schooling to make up the gaps in learning?  Maybe a longer four-day work week with a remote-learning Friday will be the new standard?

It will certainly be interesting to see the world in one year and note the changes in an array of areas most assuredly what our government will look and act like. We are in need of a leadership with empathy and understanding for those less fortunate than the 1%. However, the U.S. is just one piece of a large global puzzle and many nations need reform and healing. The remaining few months of 2020 are a mystery for many reasons and let us hope the unwrapping of those unknowns will be wrought with a feeling of hope and relief rather than despair and pain. I voted today. I voted for change and hope for a better tomorrow. A better country. A better world. And a resurgence of caring persons who are unified for the good of all humans in the spirit of empathy and love.

In a effort to supply my readers with support I offer an article How to destress

I wish you all good luck and safety this upcoming week. 

Day 214

 October 11, 2020

Unbelievably, seven months into the pandemic the world health organization reported the highest daily cases of coronavirus. According to The NY Times, “The world recorded more than one million new cases of the coronavirus in just the last three days, the highest total ever in such a short span, a reflection of resurgences in Europe and the United States and uninterrupted outbreaks in India, Brazil and other countries.“

It does not seem fathomable that COVID-19 is increasing in number of cases instead of decreasing. It speaks potentially to two ideas, one how little we know about this virus and the lack of precautions people are taking in the world. Last week the POTUS tested positive for coronavirus and this week he is holding an in person rally with hundreds of people, at least masks were required. The situation for Trump is dire as in most polls he is losing to democratic candidate Joe Biden. 

As the situation in the United States becomes increasingly anxious (as cases are on the rise in many states)

the situation in India is even more so as the countries rural areas are being devastated. The number of cases in India is quickly approaching the U.S. total of 7.7 million. 

As many school districts have installed, Aurora Public Schools is moving into a hybrid model. This model allows for a small percentage of students to be in the building while other students join the class remotely.

The planning for this has been daunting and more than ever before this looks like a trial and error approach since there are several variables in motion. Internet connections, the limitations placed on remote learners, the unknown behavior of in person students under restrictions and lack of community with in person student-to-remote student. The reality is this is new territory for most of us. I am resigned to performing the best I can and adjust as necessary. I imagine the students at home will feel left out and disengage. We shall see how it goes. In the meantime if you are looking for reasons to be cheerful. Check out this website https://reasonstobecheerful.world/ it is engineered by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, an activist for positive change in the world, he is an influencer in not only the music world.

Enjoy the week and stay Safe out there.

Day 207

 Sunday October 4, 2020

The leaves are changing as the season turns to fall. The thrill and fear of summer is over. The pandemic continues in full force as the coronavirus known as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc upon all people everywhere. The United States has taken an exceptionally sever hit as over 200,000 Americans have died from the virus. In the most recent and least shocking news the POTUS has tested positive for the virus. Trump and several cabinet members are seeking treatment after testing positive for Covid-19 on Thursday and Friday.  One month away from election day and two days after the first presidential debate and the nation spins more into a frenzy. 

The spring and summer months had coastal and major cities across the U.S. fighting desperately to keep Covid-19 under control.  And although these cities and regions have leveled off for the most part lesser populated states and areas are being affected now. Montana and the Dakotas as well as Wisconsin are being hit extremely hard with daily cases as the country continues see an average of nearly 44,000 cases a day. The cold and flu season awaits us next and the unknown marriage of the coronavirus with our seasonal flu is an awful scary thought. It will bring more than the usual Halloween tricks. All kidding aside this year of trick or treating is most likely on hold. Or at least unlike anything we have seen before.

The world outside of the U.S. is dealing with the virus in its own way and many are failing to control the outbreak.   The world seven day average is over 300,000 new cases. In the last seven days India has reported over a half a million cases. Countries such as Spain and France, two countries hit extremely hard early on are again suffering from large cases loads. Brazil and Russia continue to struggle as does Argentina and the U.K. Interestingly, mainland China where the virus originated seems to have the virus under control at this point and has done so for some time. Under 100,000 total cases and just over 230 cases in the last week. 

The NFL just into its fourth week of play has had several players and coaches test positive this week causing two games to be rescheduled. One in a few weeks and the other a few days. MLB started off with some early cases and subsequent rescheduled games, but has weathered the virus and is now in the heat of the playoffs.  One of the early affected teams, the Florida Marlins, are still in contention.  The magic kingdom bubble of the NBA has protected players and coaches and officials so far. No games have been postponed or cancelled and the NBA finals is currently in play as the LA Lakers and the Miami Heat are vying for the chance to call themselves champions (and in 2020 that is quite the accomplishment) 

Each and everyone of us fighting each day to stay healthy and deter the spread of the virus are champions in our own right. Protecting self and others from a potentially deadly and unknown entity is a thankless and stressful job. We all must continue to stay diligent and attentive to our actions and choices. Especially as the season of germs weighs down upon us we must remain cognizant of our daily selves and the affect it has on others. Be safe friends.  

Day 186

 September 12, 2020

Quote by Jack Kerouac: “Be in love with your life. Every minute of it.”

Living life is loving life. The want, the passion, the thrill and the simplicity of it. Going through the every day chores and monotony is not living, it is just the part of existence that is required in order for us to truly enjoy living life in the ways that bring joy, excitement and anticipation to our soul. 

To be honest the last several months since the pandemic was declared and we were given stay at home orders, travel bans were in effect, social distance was suggested and all the fun was taken from us we have had to get creative. Humans designed their own versions of fun living. There were so may amazing people sharing their talents with the world. One of my favorites was Sophie Ellis-Bextor and her kitchen disco!

Here she is in all her glamour with her lovely voice singing pop songs and classics from her kitchen. 

Kitchen Disco Episode 3

Yet even now after all these months and many people are back to work in some way. The novelty of creating our own fun has lost its appeal. We want to go see live music and live sports and visit the art museums and movie theaters. We miss the trips to the library and our favorite cozy coffee shop or book store. This pandemic is wearing on us, but we must persevere. That is what we do as humans. The struggle has always been real. The triumph over tragedy is a human way of life. To press on. To continue to strive to live you best life. (or your okayest life as I saw on a tee shirt recently).

It is now our charge to find the living within the life mundane. The quiet moments when you are reading.  The love moments when you are looking into the eyes of your significant other, the one person in life that gives you great joy. The subtle moments on a walk when you are in touch with the world.

The exuberant moment when you complete a workout and you are breathing deeply and your muscles ache.  The simplest moment of lying in your bed knowing who you are and what you want.

The artist Keith Harring struggled much of his life with this quandary as I imagine many people do both young and old. Truth be told it is not an easy answer to find. Harring, when he was 19, wrote in his journal, "I don’t know what I want or how to get it. I act like I know what I want, and I appear to be going after it — fast, but I don’t, when it comes down to it, even know.

He eventually found it through art. The creation of art for other people brought him the joy that enabled him to find love of life and love of self. By the end of his life he was able to accept it all, the life, the pain, the death, the embodiment of existence. Harring found success and despair during the eighties, a decade of time in which he became a known to the world as a talent, but also saw AIDS take the lives of many of his friends and eventually his life as well. Near the end he accepted the fragility of life and the mystery of life to a degree which resonates with Albert Camus’s insistence that “there is no love of life without despair of life.”

Through our lives it is up to us, the individual to seek and find our path to love through despair. Life is fleeting and fragile and thin. It is there for a time in which we do not know the length. A short poem, a long novel, a short film and episodic series, a postcard, a mural. A life few will see or the world will know. No matter. Your life is yours and it will never be repeated or replaced. Each of us has the unique ability to life and love. And we never really know ourselves because we are always seen through the eyes of others. We are made up of the perspectives and opinions of those we meet and impact.

How will you leave your soul stamp on others? How will you be seen and remembered? 

Embrace life and share it so others may see you as you have never seen yourself. 

Day 172

 Sunday August 30, 2020

A year ago not many people would have imagined the condition we currently find ourselves in. The novel coronavirus which became COVID-19 and officially became a pandemic on March 12, 2020 has infected over 25 million people and has a death total nearing 1 million (it is around 847,000 as of today). India now has the fastest-growing coronavirus caseload of any country in the world, with more than 75,000 new infections per day. In the past week, India has reported nearly half a million cases.

Yet the world and all its inhabitants continue to disagree on very important issues such as mask wearing and social distancing.  The two most important defenses against a virus primarily spread through human transmission. I suppose people are either uninformed of the virus and how it is continually spreading or very opinionated about their rights not to help themselves and fellow Americans. There is hope for the "all saving vaccine" soon, but I imagine even that will be met with both controversy and repudiation. 

The United States is in the middle of a presidential election (November 2020) as both the Republican and Democratic conventions recently wrapped up. The nation is also still protesting and calling for social justice as police officers continue to make grave mistakes when confronting citizens even after the killing of George Floyd in May turned the country on its end. There are struggles in most major cities around both the control of the virus and social issues regarding civil rights and police enforcement. In Denver this week police ransacked homeless encampments and made several arrests.  My friend Peter shot this video of one of the raids.Denver Police raid on homeless encampment

Many major sporting events were cancelled due to the recent shooting of another black male, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. The shooting led to protests and rioting which eventually resulted in a civilian shooting two protesters. 

In Portland, Oregon the protests against police brutality and racial injustice have gone on for three months and last night a group of protesters clashed with a Trump rally and one person was shot dead.

Our society is desperate for leadership on so may levels beginning with the top, but also at the state and local levels. 

When will this hell on earth end? Will the eradication of COVID-19 (whenever that happens) be enough to regulate the world? The anger and hatred will still fester. Changes in our world societal systems are needed. In a conversation with friends recently, someone mentioned the feeling of solidarity of around the world after 911. For a short time we felt the pain and the human suffering deep inside our hearts and every man, woman and child mourned the loss of life in a tragic event.

The terrorist attacks that September day manifested changes in the airline and travel industries. Are these tragic moments we are witnessing, although not on the same scale but still inhumane, not enough to evoke the changes we need to see social equality and more humane treatment of impacted people.

“The time of a man's life is as a point; the substance of it ever flowing, the sense obscure; and the whole composition of the body tending to corruption. His soul is restless, fortune uncertain, and fame doubtful; to be brief, as a stream so are all things belonging to the body; as a dream, or as a smoke, so are all that belong unto the soul. Our life is a warfare, and a mere pilgrimage." - Marcus Aurelius

 

Day 165

 Sunday August 23, 2020

It has been a week since my last entry.  We are one week into remote teaching and all is well.  By the end of the week things started to feel comfortable and creating a consistent and predictable classroom was helpful to both the students and myself.

I love the space I am teaching in and that helps a great deal. I have enough space and feel safely isolated while still being in the school. 

Of course it feels odd to be in a school without children, but hey are only a google meet link away. The students appear to be positive and engaged for the most part. I can tell some students are not comfortable of happy with their current circumstances and I feel for them.  This entire endeavor is not easy and the uncertainty of it all must be stressful.  Especially if much of your life operates on a day to day basis.  The pandemic becomes one more giant WHAT IF?

The fact is much of this is both in our control and out of our control.

We have the choice to protect ourselves and others through social distancing, wearing a mask and washing our hands regularly.  We have the option to socialize with certain people or not.  We can stay home if we need to.  It is the virus itself we do not have control of.  Where is it? Many carriers are asymptomatic and that is fearful.  The fact that it keeps spreading due to people who are not choosing the option to protect others.  The potential for this to last for many more months without a vaccine and even then the effectiveness of the vaccine is unknown.  Many questions and few answers.

This past week saw the democratic convention take place online and I suppose it fit with the times.

As Joe Biden and company are taking the stand that the incumbent POTUS has not done right by us and continues to fumble major issues such as the handling of the coronavirus, the social injustices surrounding Black Lives Matter and even the upcoming election (Post Office anyone?)

With the November presidential elections looming there is also a tension in the air because the election will ultimately affect the next four years.  Which will in turn determine how the country continues to respond to the virus as well as major social issues around Black Lives Matter and the United States police forces.  The education systems are bound to be impacted with decisions regarding safe practices involved the different models of teaching.  While the youth of our country are destined to be affected in more ways than one (socially, educationally, and economically) All of this and the pandemics' economic impact that has ramifications affecting us and the world around us, which also continues to ebb and flow with the virus and pandemic, they all want to see who will be the leader of the United States of America.   The state of our country relies on the leadership in office and we need strong leadership now more than ever. 

Both in Colorado and California wildfires continue to rage as the drought conditions and high temperatures are preventing firefighters from making any headway in containment as over 900,000 acres in California and over 200,000 acres in Colorado have been scorched. 

Sports are back in a remote and modified way with seasons being shortened and restrictions in place to keep both team personnel and players safe. Fans are safe since they cannot attend games. 

And although it has been enjoyable to have this brand of entertainment again it is not a panacea for our current woes. 

The world as we once knew it has changed and will continue to remain a distant and remote and virtual world for quite some time. The best we all can do now is hold our collective breath and wait as the world turns. 

Spinning World

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).