This week was an incredibly productive one for me. I emerged from some kind of nasty summer cold virus that was clinging since before our trip to London. The whole experience prompted some self-reflection, which I’m sharing below, along with the weekly roundup links.
Please be sure to hit the little ❤️ button above if something in here resonates or inspires.
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My immune system has been rebelling ever since the whole family had COVID in April. I've been tired, constantly congested, and have genuinely felt like I’m fighting a new a cold every third day. I’ve been able to function — taking my daughter to her various activities, working, even seeing the Barbie movie (PS: loved it), but the sub-current of my physical state has been exhaustion and pain. I’ve been through a gamut of emotions on a loop — perseverance, anxiety, frustration, boredom, and back around again.
The other day I thought to myself, ‘Welp, this might be the new normal. What am I going to do about that?’ It was a genuine and spiritual question.
The question brought to mind a memory: Whenever there was a holiday family gathering growing up, my mom would make the same toast — that she was grateful that we all “had our health.” Looking back, I can see that it was like a superstitious little prayer -- if she could be grateful for it, say it aloud, then the very bad luck of heart attacks, strokes, or even cancer (said in a whisper like the mother in the 80s classic, St. Elmo's Fire) would not befall us.
This is absurd, of course. And yet, I get it. It’s too hard to live in our utter vulnerability all of the time. The reality that we're all gonna DIE is a lot. The idea that, as colleague Todd Jones used to say, "None of us is going to be able bodied forever," is even harder. We don’t want to think that our health could erode -- whether by an autoimmune disease, an accident, a neurodegenerative disease, or shhhhhhh cancer.
So we do our stupid cardio1 and eat our organic veggies and pound our supplements of choice (mine is spirulina; I swear spirulina2 has magical effects on my insides) and we say our superstitious little prayers.
This week, though, it dawned on me: Maybe we could stop toasting to our health and start toasting to living with difficulty. All manner of difficulty comes and goes in waves in the span of a life and it’s worthwhile to celebrate those small pockets of joy and meaning in spite of and even alongside the challenges.
It feels important, also, to remember the many people who are doing this right now -- living with real, tangible difficulty. I’d like to honor those people instead of separating myself from them.
I guess it's my own way of saying, can we embrace each other in the midst of the difficulty? Can we embrace ourselves?
I'm feeling better now. A whole lot better than I've felt in about a month. But something has shifted in me. I'm moving more gently, both physically and mentally.
I'll still be over here pounding my spirulina, chaga, vitamin D, and fish oil. But maybe, just maybe there's a little bit less of a desperate prayer behind it all and more acceptance that I'm doing my best, my body is doing its best, and the next time there is pain, I will try to allow it to be there while I’m searching for the joy.
And now for the links that inspired me this week. I hope they do the same for you:
All about brain endurance training by Yogaland friend and guest, Daya Grant
Mindful techniques to help middle schoolers
Give me all the Golden Retrievers please and thank you (gifted link)
No, you’re not a loser (from someone who knows)
I don’t really think cardio is stupid. But I did laugh when I wrote that, so I kept it.
This is not an affiliate link or a sponsored thing! I just swear by this spirulina, which my acupuncturist shared with me during cancer treatment. It gives me energy and is from a small acupuncture clinic in norcal, so I trust the sourcing. It’s a powder.
At age 70, this is a key question for me. How do we reconcile the inevitable aging process with the joy of moving, growing even, in our bodies. It's a great mystery, and one that I am certain I will be confronted with during the next decade. Thank you for your wisdom, Andrea.
'We do our stupid cardio' Love that! Laughed out loud :) Yep I do my stupid (not stupid) cardio