What Are Your Six Things?

Photo by jokerbethyname / Shutterstock Only a fool would not be scared if a rattlesnake suddenly raised its head. That’s a healthy and potentially life-saving reaction. But when I was a child, I was so terrified of snakes around our house in the country that I was often afraid to go outside for days at a time. That is not a healthy reaction.

Photo by NASAThis picture is a NASA photo of Flight Engineer Tim Kopra in 2015, not Chris Hadfield. But it illustrates just how alone you are in space, even if there is another person around to take the picture. Can you imagine suddenly and unexpectedly going blind in this situation?

Photo by Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock Washing your hands in warm, soapy water is the single most effective thing you can do to stay healthier.

This post originally appeared in the Cameron Herald and Thorndale Tribune and on the Hearts, Homes, and Hands blog on 2020-04-17.

Be scared. You can’t help that. But don’t be afraid. Ain’t nothing in the woods going to hurt you unless you corner it, or it smells that you are afraid. A bear or a deer, too, has got to be scared of a coward the same as a brave man has got to be.

—William Faulkner

These are scary times. I’m reminded of a quote from William Faulkner. “Be scared,” he wrote “You can't help that. But don’t be afraid.”

Being scared is a natural reaction to a startling stimulus. It gets your heart beating and your body ready to fight or flee. Being afraid is ongoing. It can lead to complete inaction or worse—self-destructive behaviors.

How can we not be afraid when times are so scary?

Astronaut Chris Hadfield went blind while walking in space. What could be scarier or more frightening than knowing you are alone in the vastness of space and not being able to see how to get back inside the relative safety of your space capsule? Hadfield survived by focusing on the six things he could do to make things better.

I’ll bet we can each find six things we can do to make things better. Here’s my list.

1. My family and I are practicing social distancing and eliminating unnecessary trips to town and stores.

Even at home, we maintain our private spaces and keep our distance. This private distancing can be challenging with seven adults under roof.

2. While hand washing has always been important, my family and I are becoming almost obsessive about it. 

3. I work every day to keep Hearts, Homes, and Hands able to provide essential the services—like grocery shopping or help with housecleaning—that keep our clients safe and healthy.

We also work very hard to protect our employees. Kathleen and I reached out to every outlet we could find to get adequate protective gear for our employees when that gear became unavailable through our usual suppliers.

4. Every morning and every evening just before bed, I journal about things I am grateful for.

This practice keeps me focused on what is going right in my life and away from the spiraling cesspool of negativity that seems determined to drag us all down. We don’t control what happens, but we can control how we react to it.

5. I cut my own hair the other day.

Even if hair salons were open, I would not have risked my own health, nor the health of my clients and those I love, for simple vanity. And it didn’t turn out badly. Not like it could have. Not like it did when I was six.

6. Finally, I keep in mind that there is no problem so bad I can’t make it worse.

There are four items on my list that can move directly to yours. But really think about that last one. Social distancing works. It has kept the spread of the disease way down in Milam County, and it has helped keep the outbreak manageable in other parts of the country. Let’s not make the problem worse by taking unnecessary risks or getting out and about too soon.

We will all be happier and healthier if we focus on what we can do to make things better.

Food for Thought #5

Few things beat this blend of shrimp, garlic, and peppers. Nummy!

Photo source: Closet Cooking

Other than the economy, anti-Americanism has been causing some people in the United States (and some of our neighbors who fear being mistaken for an American) to reconsider travel abroad. That got me thinking…

Appetizer: Have you ever traveled outside your native country?

I have been to Canada, Mexico, Panamá, and El Salvador. Oh, and as Cheech and Chong would say, “and parts of Alabama.” Each country offered something unique in culture and landscape. And even though, El Salvador was the most dangerous—kidnapping is a growth industry there—it was still fun.

Soup: What’s the farthest from home you have ever ventured?

I think Edmonton, Alberta is actually farther north from me than either San Salvador or Cuidád Panamá, but I haven’t done the math recently enough to be sure. Oddly, most of my trips abroad have all landed me in the same time zone—with the exception of my trips to Canada, which have taken me to all the time zones in the lower 48 states, plus one.

Salad: Do you plan to travel abroad any time in the future, however long it may be? If so, where?

I hope so. I want to see New Zealand and parts of Australia. I have also wanted to visit he ruins of the Shaolin temple in Henan since I was a teen.

Entré: What would deter you most, fear of being targeted as an American, the security considerations of your on nation, or something else?

That answer depends on destination. For most of the world, excluding the caliphate (past, present, or potential), I am more afraid of my own country’s security policies. I’ve had to dig through my vehicle for change to be allowed back in to the United States after having spent too much of my cash in Canada. The Border Patrol won’t take an ATM card.

Dessert: If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would you most want to go?

Answering this one, I realize it is redundant for me. I hope it isn’t for everyone. But since I worded the question in the superlative, I’ll go with New Zealand. Peter Jackson did an awesome job showcasing the terrain, but that only reinforced a desire to go. I first started thinking about a trip there (or possible emigration) in the late 1980s.