Category Archives: My Life

Grace

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We wait in anticipation of what is to come in the next weeks. We had some rain last night and this morning, then the sun came out. I spotted a bumble bee going into its nest at the top of our gate. An orange hummingbird sipped at my sage plants.  I found an image that looks like it.

Rufous hummingbird Photo by Chris LeBoutillier from Pexels

A peaceful meditation video that I found. Let us have grace, an end to the suffering:

Blogging A to Z April Challenge 2020

What Day Is It Anyway? #WDIIA, is hosted by Linda G Hill.

Featured image ‘Storm at Sea on a Moonlit Night’ by artist Ivan Aivazovsky on Wikimedia.org

Video of ‘The Great Bell Chant’ with Thich Nath Hanh via Kenalu1 on You Tube

Finding Peace

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I have been looking for ways to cope with stress caused by the current crisis in the world.  I don’t meditate but do like some short Buddhist meditation prayers. Music is soothing for me. I have been listening to some of my calming CDs before bed and I have been able to sleep better. I enjoy nature even in my backyard. One of my local museums, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has #MuseumMomentofZen, with relaxing images and videos. Here are some below:

Boston Harbor, Sunset by Fitz Henry Lane via LACMA American Art

 

“May you be held in compassion

May your pain and sorrow be eased

May you be at peace”

 

What Day Is It Anyway?, #WDIIA, is hosted by Linda G Hill.

and # Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2020

Buddhist meditation on Compassion from ‘The Wise Heart’ by Jack Kornfield

 

Estimations

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“California continues to see dramatic increases in people hospitalized with the virus, with 2,300 patients in the state. Another 3,267 people hospitalized are suspected of having COVID-19, but are awaiting testing results.

Overnight, the number of coronavirus patients in California’s intensive care unit beds rose nearly 11% to 1,008 people.”

Barbara Ferrer, director of the L A County Department of Public Health “said  Friday that L.A. County should expect to see 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day in the coming weeks and that the key to keeping the rate of spread manageable was for the public to stay largely at home.” (April 4, 2020, LA Times)

I have been following the IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) of University of Washington projection graphs for the estimated peaks of cases, compared with available resources. Each day I receive a newsletter from the LA Times that updates the local numbers. Los Angeles county numbers have been rising sharply the past couple of days which could be related to increased testing. It is just hard to see numbers rising even though it is not as severe as New York. But we don’t know the real number of cases because not enough tests have been done yet. I feel the tension rising with the numbers.

Relying on grocery delivery now to avoid going to markets in person. There are several days wait time to get the orders because the stores are having high demand. I am grateful that we can order groceries and have enough food to eat, that my kids are close by, and that we are all well.

What Day Is It Anyway? , #WDIIA, is hosted by Linda G Hill

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2020,

Featured image ‘Storm clouds gathering’ by Zooey on Flickr.com

 

Go Deep

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I need to reach deep into myself to gather my strength. Part of me wants to turn away, to hide. Is it a defense that automatically turns on to protect my heart from pain? But I feel I must bear witness, to see and hear what others are suffering, to honor their lives. I see you New York, New Jersey, Detroit, New Orleans, Georgia, Washington, my state of California, my country.

We must be in this together.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is ‘deep.’

Featured image by Gerd Altmann on Pixabay.com

Creativity

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I have not been doing creative writing for a while. Not feeling inspired to do it and during these times of crisis it is hard to focus on it. Creativity can take many forms and there can be many expressions of it. I do feel moved to write about these times. I notice people coping creatively in a variety of ways. A lot of baking and gardening. My husband has been wanting to bake bread and there is not yeast to be found online or in stores. Nurseries are doing a good business. It is rewarding to go out and work in my backyard. Sleep has been a problem which affects my energy and functioning during the day. Last night I listened to opera before going to bed and it really helped. I kept the CD player at the bedside if case I woke during the night again. I remembered that listening to soothing music helped me after cancer surgery. It was healing for me. The sun is out and the sky is clear blue here today and that helps.

Feel that my reaction to this pandemic and the suffering is a grief process. Sadness beneath the surface like an underground river of tears. I do not practice a religion but do have spiritual needs for this time. I find it in music or nature and in love and caring. I do not practice Buddhism but find some of the prayers comforting. For all of us and those suffering and those caring for the sick:

“May you be held in compassion. May your pain and sorrow be eased. May you be at peace.”

What Day Is It Anyway? , #WDIIA, is a blogging community hosted by Linda G Hill.

Featured image ‘Barley at Sunrise’by Tsukioka Kogyo (Japan 1869-1927) shared by Los Angeles County Museum of Art, LACMA, #Museum Moment of Zen. Thank you LACMA for a lovely idea of sharing peaceful images.

 

Better Sleep-What Day Is It Anyway? April 2, 2020

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I am pretty sure I am not alone in having trouble sleeping well now. My husband and I are both waking up during the night and stay up for a couple of hours. My husband gets up and goes into the kitchen to be on the computer. He is considerate to close the bedroom door to keep from disturbing me. Last night I got up while he slept and went on the computer. I look at the latest news and browse my emails. This disrupted sleep pattern is not healthy I know. It makes me drag through the morning and the day. The sleep problems are due to the stress we are all under. I want to try something different to remedy this, listening to music when I wake up and see if that helps to get me back to sleep. I will allow myself to take a nap if I need it.

How are you sleeping?

Thinking about all those who are fighting Coronavirus. My heart goes out to all the people who are suffering with this illness and to all those who are valiantly caring for those who are sick. 

 

What Day Is It Anyway?, #WDIIA, is a blogging community hosted by Linda G Hill.

 

Featured image ‘Sleeping Girl on a Wooden Bench’ by Albert Anker on Wikipedia.org

A is for Apex-What Day Is It Anyway? April 1, 2020

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The University of Washington projection for California to reach apex of cases is April 28.  New York is predicted to peak earlier on April 10. So in California we will have a ways to go with ‘stay at home.’ It will probably go further into May or until June. Hard to get my head around how long this is but in the beginning I felt 15 days would be a long time. Now we have gotten through that time. So need to take this one day at a time and someday we will be looking back from the finish line.

When I see the suffering in New York and how hard it is hitting the Healthcare providers I think that the requirement for all of us to maintain the social distancing is a small price to pay. New York mayor, Andrew Cuomo, has a press conference every day. He was very inspiring to me today saying we can’t let this virus change us so that we will be afraid to be close to each other when this is over. He talked about his fears for his younger brother who now has the virus. His words are important to New Yorkers and to us all.

What Day Is It Anyway? #WDIIA, is a blogging community hosted by Linda G Hill.

Featured image ‘Mount Brewer in Kings Canyon by Albert Bierstadt