A WEEK FROM HELL and LOOKING AHEAD

I struggled all last week with a bronchial issue that caused extreme physical stress. That was quickly put into perspective with the Orlando massacre last Sunday night followed by the tragedy with the boy from Nebraska and the alligator.  A bad cold that evolves into pneumonia is not a tragedy.  While it results in a lot of personal discomfort, it can be treated.   Senseless deaths of loved ones at the hands of a terrorist have no known cure except to mourn and grieve and eventually heal from being torn apart. 93 gun-related deaths in the past 72 hours not including Orlando. (6.19.16)

Listening to the debates and discussions, if you can call them that, about guns and gun control, mental health, and the presence of angry, alienated young men in our society leaves me with a feeling of helplessness and I don’t like it.  To hear a physician/psychiatrist say that the gun crisis is not a public health issue makes me wonder what he thinks is a public health issue.  His name: Dr. Keith Ablow, really, a Fox news commentator named ABLOW!  You can’t make that up!  He also had a choice psychoanalysis of President Obama that isn’t worth printing.

Back on the personal front, two of our three vehicles have been in the shop for repairs, neither being dealt with competently and delay after delay as a departure date for two of them looms large this coming Wednesday morning.  No time margin and no extra breathing room tend to exacerbate stress and it’s fairly common knowledge that stress can be debilitating and we’ve already had enough of that, thank you very much.

We have all had a bad day or even a bad week.  Gratefully, last week is over. It is past, gone and done and I will find a way to put it to rest and move on. I can let go of most of the bad stuff coming down and yet I wonder at times, what’s next?  I am not overly concerned about that for I believe I have the resources to deal with whatever comes along regardless of how serious, how major or minor. 

Perspective helps, faith helps, and family helps enormously.  I think and I talk and I write.  And I get quiet and go inside myself.  It all helps and the questions that remain are what return can I make, what help can I provide?

Today is the first day of a new week, fresh and unspoiled thus far.  Tomorrow is Summer Solstice, a time to celebrate the greatest amount of daylight of any day in the year.  The Sun will be at its highest elevation in the northern hemisphere with the North Pole at its maximum tilt toward the sun.  Let’s make it a week of LIGHT AND LIFE.  For me, Tuesday is a day of preparation and Wednesday marks the beginning of a ten-day road trip filled with happiness, joy and celebrating with others.  We press on, Regardless!