The View Up Here

I know this isn't the most well-crafted piece I've ever written. I just need to get the thoughts out there. Thank you for reading. Trying to come up with a response to the election of Donald Trump as prez. It's not just about Trump, you see. It's about the backlash and the hate and the IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD and all the other negative feedback. I understand fully that people who voted for Hillary are in mourning. They feel that rights will be taken away from segments of our population, that healthcare will be decimated, that war will be inevitable. (I voted for neither of them, for my conscience would not allow it, and I live in a solidly Blue state anyway.) Trump's campaign was an ugly one. I'm no political scientist, nor do I play one on TV, but even a lay person like myself can see that people in this country have been unhappy and hurting for a very long time, and Trump keyed right into that. His inflammatory speeches and bold proclamations wh...

I really dislike winter. Well, to be more accurate, I dislike the long, cold, damp of winter in the Northeast. Specifically, in Western New York. Winter in Salt Lake was cold but dry, so it was tolerable. Winter here - and the scary thing is we haven't even begun, really, with all these warm temps in the 50s and 60s - is going be a bear. Since I can't change the weather, I need to change my 'tude. I also need to recognize that I can take better care of myself in winter. Maybe you have similar problems with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) aka "the winter blues." Of course, exercise is one key way of being healthier in winter, but for many of us, it's not enough. Here are some ways to make the best of things this winter: Find beautiful places to go for a walk. Maybe it's close by your home, maybe you have to drive to get there. But seeing the beauty in wintry nature on a sunny (if cold) day will do much to lift your spirits. Take soothing hot ...

Okay, technically it's tomorrow, but I'm still awake since the morning of the 12th, so we're gonna call this safe. It's late, so I'll keep it simple: this week I started relearning how to walk. No really. After several ankle/knee injuries, plantar faciaitis (or as I like to call it, planter's fascists), flat feet, heel spur and lots of pain, my massage/Reiki therapist helped me to realize that I've been standing and walking with my right hip cocked back. Meaning, essentially, that I've been walking around with my right leg not really working the way it was designed to. So for the last week I've been walking with more body awareness, doing specific exercises for core strengthening, and paying attention to where my hips and feet are. How many of us take for granted that we are healthy in body and mind? Here's something I never thought I'd have to pay attention to. Walking. I mean, I've been doing it since I was two, right? Mom and me on...