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How Are We Doing? Wellness Health Check In. Please be Mindful in Your post.

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(@laynara)
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@lovendures We live in an Apartment Complex so we try to enjoy the nature when we can while still keeping our distance from others. I'm hoping once we move into a house it'll be easier. I have been fighting myself telling myself we are going to be ok and getting this house isn't a mistake. Sometimes the war in your lives in the one within.?


   
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(@goldstone)
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Been trying to get back into making art. It's difficult, but I've picked up the brush and did something with it, which I guess it's an improvement all things considered. Since the emergence of the virus and my first encounter with racism over it, my creativity is been on a decline, where I've hit rock bottom last week and march itself.

I've been thinking of writing my first draft of my comic's script, which is the first story of an anthology I'm hoping to work on for quite a while just to keep me busy. It's about a werewolf barrister with a chip on her shoulder with the rest of humanity, both magical and mundane, but loves her family and devoted to the ideals of justice. The last part she's not willing to admit because she's a tad cynical.

I hope my creativity energy would recover a bit better rather than going bad again like last time.


   
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(@laynara)
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Good afternoon everyone, I have been working on myself and reading all the support and thinks people have told me not to worry just to have optimism. A few things Jeanne has said to me over the last few years to help me escape my mind have helped allot. I want to thank you for reassuring me I will get to see my son grow up and that I won't die from climate change where I live. I don't understand but it boosts something inside me deep down telling me its true and to not let go of my dreams for the future and try to let go of the negativity cause we will face what seems to be thrown at us. I need to stay out of my mind and not take predictions to heart has hard as I was. For example, population declining in the next 50 years can be from many different things including birth rates dropping and interplanetary settlements.

 

 

I love being part of this community and love every single one of you. Thank you for the support and reassurance you all have given me ? I may not respond as much anymore but I will be hanging around. 


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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@Laynara, we love you.  We all want to wrap our love and protection around you and your family.  I don't see anything that would keep you and your family and your little boy from living long and happy lives. I have not seen nor has anyone here a big population decline in the US in the future like you said you have read about.

Nor has anyone here who has participated in Read the Future night.  It's also not in the science.  Climate change will cause huge loss of life down the road, but not likely in this century in this country.  Yes we will see food prices go up but we will still eat.

Sadly and unfairly, the greatest loss of life in the next fifty years will be in countries with exploding populations to feed, countries that are already stretched at the margins of subsistence. In those places, even without climate change, food production will not be keeping pace with population growth after 2050.  That is science, and even then, smart people are actively working on advances that will help them. 

As for the doomsday prophets who have creatively come up with every possible horror for the future,  I do not listen to them and I wish you wouldn't either.  We don't post that stuff here. It is simply a prescription for instant anxiety and for no reason. 

 

   


   
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(@laynara)
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@jeanne-mayeIl Thank you so much Jeanne, your words were so touching they managed to put a smile on my face which I needed tonight. I appreciate you taking the time to respond with such wonderful reassurance and love.  I'm trying to avoid the news the best I can because in my grandmothers words "It rots the brain when they speak evil nonsense". 

 

I hope everyone has a good, blessed night/day ?


   
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(@laynara)
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@jeanne-mayell I had my first good nights sleep in a while since my fears have been cut down quite allot. And the prediction I was referring to was from 2075 about the earth having 75% less population, but that could be a number of things scientifically. 

My heart feels allot lighter today from all the love and light everyone here has surrounded us in. Thank you all for the love you have surrounded us in ?


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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@laynara. Oh, Laynara, that is such good news. 

I noticed a shift in my own visions for 2020 election after spending a good part of the day writing postcards to help people in Georgia get back onto the voter registration rolls.  The mere act of helping boosted my optimism.  The healing meditation we do on Wednesday nights also makes us all feel stronger and healthier. 


   
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(@laura-f)
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I'm posting this here, because it's not really a vision, not transpersonal, etc., but I woke up laughing today.  I had a pandemic-related dream last night.

Background: I don't usually dream anymore, I suspect due to my low thyroid function, but when I do, they are usually hilarious, apparently even my sub-conscious is a clown. It's long, but what else do you have to do today? Here we go:

It's a few months in the future. I had to do weekly shopping at Costco (which, btw, I don't shop there anymore). People are not wearing gloves and masks, but many of the safety measures are still in place, including social distancing. I have my shopping list with me, and I'm finding everything I need from my list. I even find some reasonably priced hand sanitizer and throw one in my cart. As I come around one aisle, I see a display of imported German chocolates in yummy flavors. There's even an employee handing out samples. I say to her, "Really? Samples? Aren't we not supposed to be doing that?" and she replies "No, it's ok, I'll only hand you one piece with tongs, please don't touch anything." She gives me a piece and it's delicious, so I select one box to put in my cart. I realize I left my cart at the other end of the aisle, with my shopping list in it. I go to put the box of chocolate in my cart, but there is a dude next to it and another dude with a forklift. They are taking my cart away! I say to the first dude "Hey - what the hell? That's my cart!", and he says "Sorry ma'am, you can't leave carts unattended, we just had to move it out of the way, no worries, we'll put it in a special area by the cashiers for you, you can retrieve it there when you go to pay. My name is Dave, and if you need anything else let me know." I say, "But I have to get more stuff, and my list is IN the cart!" Dave replies "Well, just start over I guess." I tell him this makes no sense to me, how am I supposed to redo the whole cart without my list (I'm very list-centric IRL, if you hadn't already guessed that by now). I decide to just head to the cashier area to try to find my cart. When I get there, it's set up almost like a TSA checkpoint, except there's a little old lady "greeter" wearing a uniform that looks like a cross between Costco and TSA. I ask her where my cart might be. She says there's an area "over there" and vaguely points. She wishes me a nice day. I roll my eyes. I go look but can't find the cart. I find a security guard (and my brain cast Steve DiSchiavi from The Dead Files in this role, which I so appreciate). He helps me look, even outside in the parking lot. He suggests I start from scratch and I point out -again- that my list is in the cart, this is an insurmountable task. I thank him, and decide to pay for my box of chocolates and leave. As I pay I spy Dave at a distance, and holding my chocolate up high I yell, "FUCK YOU DAVE, FUCK YOU!!!"
The End.

@Bluebelle - hope this makes you laugh
Editor's note: I told this dream to my hubby when I woke up. As soon as I got to the part where "Dave" is removing my cart, my husband said "Fuck you Dave!" We laughed our asses off. He knows me so well.


   
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(@bluebelle)
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@laura-f

Oh, yes!  "Fuck you, Dave!"  You have me laughing.  You and @Allyn with the SADS project have made my week-well, you, Allyn and my cousin in Boston who filled an hour's conversation with so many F-bombs that I'm still laughing days later.  


   
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(@laynara)
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I hope everyone is doing wonderful tonight, I have had a pretty good day. I got to spend time with my little family, watch one of our favorite tv shows, do some cleaning, and video chat with my parents and siblings that live in Ohio and New York. I miss them all greatly. I believe today has been one of my better days, trying my hardest not to some myself out ? thank you all for letting me be part of this amazing community ?


   
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(@lovendures)
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Topic starter  

It has been about a month, more or less, since many of our states in the US went on lockdown.  Longer for some of our European members.

How are we doing currently?  What have you noticed about life during a pandemic?  What are you grateful for and what do you miss?

I realize many of you are located in states where the pandemic is shredding any sense of normalcy at breakneck speed and creating deep heartache and loss.  I know that while cases in my state continue to rise, we have been very fortunate and have no real concept of what has happened in places like NY and Michigan.  We are mostly dealing with current changes in what was normal living of life, not life and death matters on a 24-7 basis.  For those who are dealing with this ongoing intense battle, I can only offer my prayers and my love.  

Here are some of the things I have noticed over the past few weeks about myself and about dealing with the new normal.  I have found that my days are much better if I can be in nature, even if it is my own backyard for part of the day.  It reduces my stress.  I also like listening to the sounds in my neighborhood.  Children laughing, birds chirping, wind blowing through trees, even the ice-cream truck which is an "essential service" I guess.  I imagine children coming out into the bright world from their "caves" to the sound of the musical  ice- cream truck as it travels the neighborhood, a bit of sweetness in a dark time.   ( Our ice- cream truck plays Waltzing Matilda, so I also think of Australia when I hear it.) 

I meditate during my week more often which I  find helpful for putting me in a good frame of mind. 

I am still taking fresh lemons from our tree and making fresh lemonade with different flavors of honey.  Right now peppermint honey is my favorite for adding to my lemonade.    That is a delight and something I look forward to each day.

Toilet paper was found at Trader Joes's this week.  That was a nice surprise, that and the fact that people were not swarming to get some.  I like how T J's limits the amount of people in the store and has lines marked on the ground to guide you on where to line up ( 6 feet spaced apart) outside and by the registers.  I also like their music, it is nice and calming with a bit of fun mixed in. They have wipes and will squirt you with hand sanitizer if you wish.  ( your hand not the rest of your body, ha ha).   It isn't as scary to shop there I have  found.  Half the people inside wore masks and all employees do too.  I have one also.

I am grateful for more family time.  I am grateful for the comfort of my goofy dog and all the love he continues to bring to our family members.  I am grateful that I had a beautifully decorated Easter table and had that table filled with food we all appreciated and liked.  I am happy my oldest daughter bought chocolate bunnies from the grocery story 6 weeks ago and before the lockdown took effect , knowing it might be difficult to find them later.  They were fun to have on our Easter table and a nice sweet treat.

I appreciate how our family members are adapting to change and making do with what we have and what we can find or discover.  We can be creative and have fun finding new ways to cook or get inspired.   

I miss hugging people I know and chatting with random people I meet in my neighborhood.  I miss having lots of choices.  I miss being able to quickly run to the store to get something I have run out of at home.  

I don't miss the stress of living a more complex life though.   I don't miss traffic and air pollution. I don't miss being on a fixed schedule for most aspects of my life now.  I wish there wasn't the fear in the whole collective of how to keep or get employment or how to pay bills and keep businesses afloat though.  

We are already becoming different people, adapting to a different society.  Some things will be forever changed.  I am looking forward to some of that new change becoming our normal normal.  I am looking forward to embracing the  good that is coming from this time of great reflection and grounding, I am focusing on what I know to be good and inspiring and not the scary unknown.  

May yo all find peace, a good night sleep and something to be happy and joyful about each day.


   
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(@ghandigirl)
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@triciact

@cindy

I am thinking of you today and praying for your comfort.

Saw the first robin of spring today. Funny how nature just goes on despite the heartbreak.

 


   
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 gbs
(@gbs)
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@cindy

I haven't been on this website long, and we haven't interacted before but, from one human being to another, one daughter to another, I want to acknowledge the loss of your mother and say that my heart is with you, and that I send you support and comfort.

 


   
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(@bluebelle)
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@lovendures

Oh, our new, simpler lives do have their charms.  Like you, I miss hugging people and miss my normal activities, but boredom is not an issue and my days are full. 

In my normal life, I painted in two studio groups every week and have painted with other artists for many, many years.  In captivity (as I sometimes think of quarantine), I do paint alone, but have discovered online figure drawing sketch groups-one in Dublin and one in Barcelona.  Artists meet online through Zoom and there's always a model to pose for us.  We do the whole routine of sketching with 1, 2, 3 minute poses, then move to longer poses for painting.  Art always takes me out of my head and I lose track of time because of the intense concentration.  Painting is my happy place.

We have wonderful neighbors who have remembered us when they are going to the store and pick up anything we need from groceries to potted herbs and vegetable starts.  Our closest neighbors leave offerings on our front porch, everything from piping hot cinnamon rolls to cookies and banana bread.  Once an entire dinner arrived.  So, of course, we reciprocate in sharing love through food and gardening.

The weather has been beautiful and I am outside as much as possible.  It's flower season and weed season, so I enjoy the signs of renewed life in the trees, shrubs  and flowers.  The sound of birdsong has never been more lovely as I bend to the earth and pull shotweed and dandelions from the soil.  Birds are enjoying the birdbath again and I watch them from my kitchen window as they splash and flutter and splash some more.  

I'm using Zoom to catch up with friends and family.  My sister keeps in touch with hilarious texts, memes and pictures.  No one is enjoying isolation more than my sister.  In her regular life, she deals with people, people, people and she regularly threatens not to go back when things open up.  She's having too much fun painting (another artist), gardening and having time to think, read and listen to music.

Last week a friend came to visit at an acceptable social distance.  We pulled chairs out into my driveway and sat far apart with our adult beverages.  She brought her tumbler of wine and I drank Scotch.  When neighbors walked down the street, we explained that we were day drinking because there are no rules anymore.  

Zoom has been terrific for everything from our garden club meeting, to meditation with my yoga studio friends to Zumba dancing.  Who knew?  

On another personal note, we have a puppy.  She's quite stocky and has the gait and heft of a Clydesdale.  She's seven months old and 50 pounds, so there's more growing ahead.  We are enjoying her everyday.  Simple pleasures.  Here's an image.

There's no posting about how I'm doing in captivity without a huge thank you to Jeanne and all of you members of our site and friends of my heart.  You help me in more ways than you can ever know.  

1587509306-IMG_3762.jpg

   
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(@stargazer)
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@bluebelle

What an inspiration your 'captivity' is ... sending you my admiration and best for continued good health and high spirits ...??


   
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(@lovendures)
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Topic starter  

@bluebelle

I love our post and love  the image I have of your socializing on the driveway and how people will drop off things.  You are inspiring me.  I did not know you were an artist.  As we speak, my daughter is creating art with her acrylic paints.  

And that dog, so very cute.


   
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(@laura-f)
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@Lovendures  @Bluebelle

Love both your posts. Especially the part about day drinking. I'm all in for that! In fact, my 2 favorite cocktails right now are 1) a Ginger-Lime Margarita, 2) Watermelon-Lemon-Vodka (lemons courtesy of my tree). Vodka is good for draining lymph nodes and tequila has pre-biotics. "Can't hurt might help!"

I already posted my "Get-to's" a few pages back, so I'll just refer y'all back there for the long list. I did a great Zoom dance class today, and then I spent the rest of the day cooking, which always cheers me, which I needed today because tomorrow is our 25th Wedding Anniversary and we would have already been in NoLa by now, eating and listening to live music, and I was starting to feel a little sad about that.

So to my plan to celebrate how we can:  I made jambalaya, rice, shrimp remoulade and dough for beignets today (gluten-reduced). This way I can relax tomorrow (also it's the start of our hot season tomorrow, so figured better to use the stove today).  I have informed my husband, daughter, and her boyfriend (they were going to NoLa with us to celebrate), that everyone is to Dress for Dinner. I refuse to have 25th anniversary pics of us all in sweatpants and flipflops. Nope nope nope. I will put 2 tables ont he deck, separated of course, with proper linens. I am already chilling a nice bottle of Perrier-Jouet.

So my specific gratitude is that we're all still healthy, that I found all my necessary ingredients, that I have an antique cookbook from NoLa from the 1930s with authentic recipes, that my grandmothers taught me how to cook, that the Perrier-Jouet was on sale (it's what we had at the wedding), that everyone is on board with my plan, and that the weather will be nice.

Laissez les bons temps rouler...


   
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(@pikake)
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@laura-f Happy 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow and may it be as special (or even more) as it was 25 years ago. Today was my 24th!


   
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(@laura-f)
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@pikake

Happy Anniversary to you too! ? ? ? 


   
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(@shawn)
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@laura-f Happy Anniversary! You should play some Cajun Zydeco music and dance on your deck too! ❤️ Yup! Celebrate ?❤️❤️❤️

Happy Anniversary to @Pikake as well ❤️


   
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