Tag: George Burns

DAY 3 WITH CORONAVIRUS AND A NEW SYMPTOM!

Welcome to day 3 of my not so fun journey with the coronavirus. Today a new symptom seemed to take center stage. That was feeling dizzy. I recall last Sunday having moments of this feeling. Once having to hang on at the dinner table and another thinking I forgot to put the car in park only to discover it was not the car that was moving but my own equilibrium. Those moments were fleeting and passing. The shortness of breath is what made me go to the doctor and had me so nervous.

Then enter today. From mid-afternoon on I was very dizzy. It began when I bent over to pick up a cookbook that had fallen in our pantry. I stood up and felt like I had just left a tilt-a-whirl ride. It passed in about 30 seconds. The rest of the day I have been walking around like Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. The sad thing is I have not even had any rum. For a moment I did contemplate drinking some and seeing if the two would balance each other out, but then thought that might not be the best thing for my healing. I have also heard from a few sources that they are saying not to take elderberry, which I had been doing. I stopped adding that to my list of things I am trying.

You may think the hardest thing is dealing with fact I feel like I cannot breath 80% of the time, or even walking around like a drunken pirate without having the pleasure of drinking rum. Both of those are most unfortunate. The real struggle, however, is far worse. It is having to be in the house with my lovely lady and not being able to wrap my arms around her and shower her with kisses. I can tell that she, who is pretty much symptom free as far as the virus goes, is also hurting. Watching someone you love so much be so close yet so far away is the worse frustration ever. Last night as I watched her sleep all I wanted to do was walk over and place a kiss in the middle of her forehead. Still, because I want her to remain as healthy as she can be I stayed roughly 6 feet away.

I always like to end things on a positive note. While Margie was sleeping I did manage to finish the book I was reading. How to live to be 100…or More by George Burns. In it, along with some great comic material, was some wonderful real world advice that I would like to share with you. There is a chapter he discusses limiting worry, stress and tension. With all that we are dealing with these days that can be hard to do. All of us want to stay well-informed, but by doing so many of become inundated. News of this virus, the death toll numbers, quarentine information is everywhere. It is on the nightly news, shows up on our social media and even alerts on our phones. Add to that all of the rumors and misinformation being spread to cause worry and panic and things can become overwhelming. This stress, tension and worry can lower our immune system and make us sick. How do we overcome this? I am going to give you a quote from George Burns himself – “You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the channel.”

Trust me, I get it. As someone who has this virus I like to be informed of all the latest information. We have to be careful to take some time away. Let us use this time that we have at home to read more, meditate more, catch up on some rest. Tomorrow Margie and I have a mini movie matinee planned. This will be with some amazing homemade nachos. We will check in on what is going on, but we will also take some time out to focus on joy. Something we could all benefit from doing. I would encourage everyone to plan at least one activity that will bring them some joy and self-care. I would love it if you could share it in the comments below.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE (DAY #18)

Welcome back to our celebration of 30 days of gratitude. Each day we will focus on one area of our life to be grateful for. If this is your first day doing this I invite you to go back and do the days before this. You can do them in your head, write them down and home, but it is my hope you decide to share what you are grateful for with our community here on Secret2anamazinglife.com. There are no rules. Do one day or do all 30. Let us now look at today’s area of gratitude.

This question could be tricky. As with most of these items of gratitude, I find that I am grateful for a good many pieces of art. Also, much like the other questions in this series, I do not often stop and think of art and what I am grateful for. This has been the most pleasant surprise in all of this. Something I do not take time to think of, when I do I realize how much art there is that I am grateful for. The word art can be defined in so many different ways. Recently, I heard there was some work of art that amounted to a banana taped to a wall valued at $120,000. I also heard a comedian ate said banana…it is a strange world we live in. 

What art am I grateful for? I am a really big fan of music. I think it is one of the art forms that has the strongest emotional connection for me. There are certain movies I enjoy as well. Recently, I have been watching biographies of famous classic entertainers. Everyone from the Marx Brothers, George Burns to Liberace. I am interested in people who put their heart and soul into their creations. Being an author I would be remiss if I did not mention some of my favorite books. I am a big fan of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. (side note, I sent Mr. Bryson a copy of my book as a thank you for creating such a great work of art…no response thus far)

Art often defines moments in history as well. I recall hearing of stories from World War II in which the Nazi government made a bid to gather all of the art in the countries they invaded. A good portion of that was recovered. Sadly, a good deal of it was lost or stolen. Art can be used as propaganda. Jim Morrison, lead singer of the band The Doors, is quoted as saying, “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” He was right. We can get a jingle stuck in our head from the latest television commercial.

Art can also be used to inspire. The paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel has inspired believers of Christianity for as long as it has been there. Houses of worship of all beliefs are adorned with art to induce a feeling of reverence and to tell a story of that faith.

Art can be local. I am fortunate enough to know many artists of all different kinds. I have a friend Travis who uses his ability to put lyrics together to entertain. My friend Nicole does drawings that are amazing. She invited Margie and I to a party she had at her house where other artists displayed crafts, pottery and many other amazing creations. Of course, no discussion of art would be complete without discussing the love of my life. Margie creates so many different kinds of art it is almost impossible to list them all. She creates cakes that leave people’s hearts soaring and their jaws dropping. She made me a great necklace. (she took it back to adjust, I am hoping to have it back soon) She makes flower arrangements for weddings, funerals and because she likes to. She draws, she paints, she makes scarfs and a million other things. I heard rumors she even writes forewords to amazing self-improvement books, but I cannot confirm that at this time.

What art are you grateful for? In my life I have learned that there are so many things that are art. When I order a Chai latte at the local coffee shop, my friends Curtis and Danie create a masterpiece. When I visit West Allis Cheese and Sausage shop owned by my friend Mark, the dishes I am served are works of art. I have friends who cut hair that are great artists. I am grateful for all of these! Is there an artist you know that has created something you are grateful for?

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