Isolation Diary: To go to sleep my practice has been for a long time to set a timer and either play music or an audio book for half an hour. If I wake up in the night, I will often reset the timer and play the audio book again. I usually choose books I have listened to before so there are no surprises and whose narrators are comfortable to my ear. However, last night the book I was listening to, “Reincarnation Blues” narrated by Mark Bramhall, arrived at a brutal section and reminded me of the brutality of the current administration. I know, they, are not physically beating you and me but I feel battered nonetheless. In this section of the book, everyone is out for themselves, and caring for another is a risk. I tried to advance the story but I was only half awake and didn’t succeed. So I woke up this morning with a cloud on my soul. Extremely unpleasant. I tried to remedy this mood by working in my garden but out there I found a problem with an access grate to under the house. In a very awkward place. Left unattached by a cable guy several months ago. It took awhile but I did manage to at least temporarily secure the screen. Tools needed: a set of star screwdrivers (which I have) and a hammer. None of this was any fun at all. My mood still dark. Lunch. Read a book, which also wasn’t at an uplifting part of the story. Stop! What’s a good thing? Began considering Christmas gifts. Found something for Duncan. Ordered it. Yay! Then, after a text exchange with Maggie, I dropped everything else on my daily list and drove out to Pasadena to spend a little time with some of my family whom I hadn’t seen in a week. Spirits lifted. And feeling okay now. Phew.
Susan J.
You have a beautiful option there; an antidote for the blues and the blahs. Glad you got to exercise it.Holly B.
I like so much how you actively turn your mood around.Anna M.
Onward!!Carl G.
You’re an inspiration. Thanks so much for “Diary,” I look forward to every new entry. Be well and happy in these awful times.Sandy R.
Way to go!