The last time I wrote it was about protest, poverty, and education. There was a great deal of energy behind those issues nine months ago. I hope it's still simmering beneath the surface. In Trump time, nine months is somewhere between nine years and infinity.
I have had to look at my addiction to the news. Being retired and only working seven hours a week, I have a lot of time to get into mischief. Five days a week, I start my day by having coffee with Rachel. You know, the smartest talking head on cable tv. I rely on her to take apart the difficult issues and explain them in detail. Then, she calls in experts, legal and otherwise, to explain them some more. The teacher in me appreciates how thorough she is.
If there's time before work I switch to lighter fare, Seth Myers or Trevor Noah, for some short takes that will make me laugh while I eat my yogurt and fruit. If it's a work day, I'm ready to get out there and see my favorite senior citizens.
The best part of my little retirement job is the students I teach. No lesson plans; I teach the same two Qigong sets over and over. But each day is different because of the people I'm with. This meditative practice brings a measure of peace and centering as we keep all our moving-parts moving.
If you're not over sixty-five, you might not understand the ways your body begins to sabotage you. Every morning is a new opportunity to wake up with a stitch in your back or new creaks in your knees. Pains come and go, or sometimes come and don't go. Things you took for granted all your life suddenly need more attention, like slowing down so your feet don't get out ahead of the rest of you. Or paying attention to what you're doing without distractions. Multi-tasking can spell disaster. And lost keys.
Slowing down to pay attention has lengthened my days. Learning to breathe, to focus on the present and appreciate what I see, are side effects of this Qigong practice. Or maybe the whole point.
One of the blessings of aging is that competition falls away. When you know too many people who have already died, every day is a blessing.
As I watch entirely too many videos of politicians, read too many news stories, try to keep all the Russian names straight, and spend too much time on twitter, I try to balance it out with focus. Breath. Movement. And laughing with my seven classes of folks who used to be strangers and now are people I treasure.
All of us are in this together. Worry doesn't help. Time to breathe as one, relax, and love what is right before us.
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| Unexpected goat love. |
