It’s the end of August…how are you? How am I? How are we?

I read this on my friend’s Facebook newsfeed yesterday;

” Sometimes I just want it to stop. Talk of COVID, protests, looting, brutality. I lose my way. I become convinced that this new normal is real life. Then I meet an 87 year old who talks of living through polio, diphtheria, Vietnam protests and yet is still enchanted with life. He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must be especially challenging for him. ” No” he said slowly, looking me straight in the eyes. ” I learned a long time ago to not see the world through the printed headlines, I see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization that we love big. Therefore, I just choose to write my own headlines. Husband loves wife today. Family drops everything to come to Grandma’s bedside. He patted my hand. Old man makes new friend.

What would your headlines read?

I have so many sweet ones. Neighbor asks for help. Sisters connect. Family finds solace in the mountains. Mother sees her child as she is. Brother says I’m sorry. Beans taste good. Mom and Dad love me.

I have noticed I do this a lot. I make up my world from the people around me, and I make up my world from my inner world. I find solace in my body. I connect. Gabor Mate says ” Safety is not the absence of threat, it’s the presence of connection.” Connection to self, connection to others, connection to nature, connection to something greater than myself, connection to…? How do you feel safe?

Elaine Alec writes from her new book Calling My Spirit Back “In order to create a safe space, you need to be a safe space.”

When I let that sink in…what does it mean to be a safe space? Wow for me it means I need to practice and cultivate a lot of self compassion. Being there for myself in conflict, being there for myself when things feel awful or hopeless, or simply being there when I feel jealous, disappointed, sad… or asking for help. Easier said than done, right! I do think and feel that these times require it. There is a lot to digest on the inside as well as on the outside.

Here are a few reminders for the upcoming months to keep strong and vibrant.

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There is no end to what we can do to feel confident and healthy in 2020!

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Hugs Gigi

I’m taking my family to the mountains for a few days next week. I’ll be back in my clinic on Aug 31st.

I leave you with this excerpt from Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself, 20 given to me by a dear friend and patient for my birthday.

…I know I am August,

I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood,…

I exist as I am, that is enough,

If no other in the world be aware I sit content,

And if each and all be aware I sit content… Walt Whitman