Adventure #2, as of Mar 30

Hi Folks,

My chemotherapy is done. I am so elated. Day 3 of 3, of cycle 4 of 4, as of Saturday, Mar 28. So, I thought it good to send an update on this adventure back into PTCL-NOS.

But given the stress of these times, if you would like, "virtually" join me to dial down our daily stress. Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Breath in, hold for 5 or 10 seconds. Breath out, hold for 5 or 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times. Okay let's go... 

Quotes Floating in My Mind:

Difficult days need not be dark.

JFK in the 1963 state of the union address: 

It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested. But when it is wasted in heedless luxury and spent on no good activity, we are forced at last by death’s final constraint to realize that it has passed away before we knew it was passing. So it is: we are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it…

Life is long if you know how to use it.

Seneca

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself… it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

C.S. Lewis on true friendship, from one of his classic, brief books, The Four Loves.

Side Convo: Your Lessons on Reflection & Prayer

It strikes me that prayer & reflection are central to a life of high self-awareness. It's a powerful element in our arsenal of good living. Be it the bad stress created by COVID-19, or stage 4 cancer, job issues, relationships, etc.  Or the good stress of something mildly to deeply enjoyable.

I am very curious about your lessons on prayer and reflection.

• How often do you do it?
• Is it conversational for formal?
• Is it explicitly with your God or higher entity, or more general, a reflective discussion with yourself, or both?
• What do you most often say or do?
• What's your habit when there's a "big moment" coming in the next week, day, hour, or most importantly, in the next minute?
• I would often start a day, or go into a stressful moment by whispering, "Dear God, I pray I am with you in the baptism of today." Baptism refers more to the act of plunging into a depth of water. The idea being, in my view God is always with me, but I may have a tendency to go it alone when I get stressed. The poem Footsteps in the Sand made me ponder this notion years ago.
• Are there phrases that slip out of your mouth in good times and also in bad that you would share?
• When I went to college and was wowed by a good looking girl (happened very, very often) I discovered myself saying, "Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God." Why three times? I don't know. I have since expanded it to the many things that mystify me - my boys, great food, an exquisite moment with someone or some people, etc.

COVID-19 Primer

My cousin Lena forwarded a summary from an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, focused on infectious diseases. This expert put together a fantastic list of bullet points regarding COVID-19 which I found super helpful. After some thought, I regrouped them into 3 buckets to make it easier for myself to digest.

Hope you find this helpful too.

Adventure #2, as of Mar 17

Hi Folks,

Here's an update from my musings and activity from the last 5 weeks on this adventure back into PTCL-NOS.

Quotes Floating in My Mind:

" 'Tis but a moment from the sublime to the ridiculous."

Napoleon

“What would be the point of living if we didn’t let life change us?”

Carson, Downton Abbey, Season 1