Viruses aren’t the only things that spread through networks of people. Attitudes and behaviors do too -

This article is a very good read about all sorts of viruses that have been spread.


Points from article:

We've shown that altruistic behavior ripples through networks and so does meanness. Networks will magnify whatever they are seeded with. They will magnify Ebola and fascism and unhappiness and violence, but also they will magnify love and altruism and happiness and information. 

So let’s start our own pandemic of positive emotions to keep our spirits strong for the battle ahead. We’ll fight fire with fire. We’ll spread connection, help, gratitude and optimism. And we’ll win.

A reference to Shawn Achor, and I am a big fan of his Happiness studies. 

If the cost of failure is low, use optimism. 

Depending on whose smile you see, one smile can be as pleasurable and stimulating as up to 2000 bars of chocolate.

This is how we can start a pandemic of positivity:

• Spread Connection: Just let people know you’re thinking of them and they are meaningful to you.
• Spread Help: Offer help where you can and ask for it if you need it.
• Spread Gratitude: Say thanks. And really feel it.
• Spread Optimism: If the cost of being wrong is low, let yourself believe things will turn out right.

Just Make it Through the Day -

Great article: https://forge.medium.com/to-survive-the-quarantine-change-your-metrics-e345d79be14b.


Survive, Arrive. My mantra for the next little while. Well, Survive - gracefully. Arrive - safely.

What Doesn't Kill You - And Yet -

Do you think that we have a tendency to have "pregnancy amnesia" when it comes to hard times? After the time is over, we may wallow in anger or denial or pain, and yet as time goes on, we see the good that comes from it rather than the bad?

Do humans naturally have a growth/resiliency mindset?

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? As much as I hate that, I do believe there is some truth to the phrase.

Earlier this week I moaned, complained, and because I couldn't jump up and down or stomp my feet, go for a drive, run away, I sat in complete frustration.

See, these past 6 weeks have been very tough. And upon whining to 2 friends, I came to this understanding.

If we don't acknowledge the bad, we cannot see the good.

And so I did -

Trip to Hawaii 6 weeks ago - fantastic, and yet - tore up my foot.

I had a vacation - and yet upon the trip home from Hawaii the day, the sky fell, the pandemic barriers came into place.

We were supposed to go to Portugal 10 days after Hawaii; we didn't. And yet - we were able to get nearly all of our money back.

And life changed. Social distancing, work-from-home, slow the surge, businesses closed, and I'm down.

I was able to see a sports medicine doctor the day after I came home - and yet no non-essential surgeries could be performed; the best foot orthopedic surgeon considered the mending of my foot non-essential.

Turned around and 3 days later, with an MRI in hand, thanks to the sports med doc and my chiropractor, was able to see another sports med doctor who, working with many athletes, recognized the tears in my foot and the urgency to get my foot back together again.

Surgery happened - and yet I've had to pay out of pocket.

Foot is going to work - and yet I have hurt like hell. This has been hard, hard.

Because of CoVid I'm working from home - and yet - oh, there is no and yet! It's been the perfect time for my foot surgery and recovery! I have not missed any work days!

AND YET - I have not driven a car in 6 weeks; I have been beholden to fantastically patient Scott for everything; I have been on crutches and in a boot. I haven't worn a shoe on my right foot in 6 weeks! I've missed exercising, seeing my colleagues, and being independent!

I pulled my sling-shot and clay BB's out of the cabinet, walked outside, and shot away. Being able to work off a little angst helped some, and helped me work through the frustrating elements of the past few weeks.

I've been amazingly at peace, positive, and in a good place, and I want to keep that with me, and yet - if I don't acknowledge the uncomfortableness of the situations I'm in, it will rise up sometime.

Not cancer, not death, not debilitating, not financially draining, And yet - I'm learning a lot about myself - being an observer is a great way to participate. Being still - my goal for this year, takes a lot of work.

Life is good! I am resilient; this too shall pass; I have hope.

Story Prompt - Life Mottos

Oh, this is a tough one - something we often think about, but we don't always put in writing. What are some thoughts and phrases, that have molded you or directed your life's path?

Mine? At 19, and newly married, I was asked to teach a Relief Society class for the women's group in our church. I don't remember the lesson, but I ran across a phrase that I typed up, drew a flower around, and made copies of an a Xerox hand-copier to give to the women. It rang true to me, and has guided me.

"Sometimes we're so busy existing we forget to live."

When I think about turning down something, I often ask myself - am I doing so to exist or to live? In times of trials when I just want to push through the day, I ask myself the same; and days when I worry about the past or get anxious about the future, I remind myself that I've chosen to Live this life rather than Exist, and I get back to present, where anxiety and worry cannot exist.

Upon moving to Alabama with a young family, we were asked by my husband's boss, while we were showing him the small town we lived in, what our 5-year goals were. This happened to coincide with the time when Mission Statements were the big thing - "What is your family's/business's mission statement," was a hot question. We'd accomplished our goal - moving from our small northern Utah community clear across the US to Alabama to experience a world that was brand new. I wanted to enjoy this time, to live, rather than worry about what was next.

But he got me thinking. What was my mission statement? What was my 5-year goal? And mine became this, and has stayed with me ever since. I wake up trying to do this, go to bed at night evaluating my day based on this. This is a reflection of who I try to be every single day -

"Be Fair, Be True, Do No Harm."

And lastly, I love traveling, and on my first visit to another country, Holland, I found this post-card, "When I grow up I want to be a tourist." This reminds me that every where I go I can see the world, even my every day world, through the fresh eyes of a tourist. The view out my dining room window every morning and most evenings, of an ever-changing Mount Timpanogos, is a reminder that I have "tourist-worthy" views right here at home.

Personal Growth During the Time of CoVid -

Are you learning? Growing? Being receptive and introspective?

Please take a look at this image and listen to this 28 minute (halfway down the page) visit with Michael Singer, who I've written about and referenced several times.

Thank you.

Story Prompt - Food

Do you have a favorite food? A least favorite? What's the strangest food you've eaten? Are there foods you refuse to eat for one reason or another? Do you have a comfort food? How about road trip foods? When you travel, do you try out the foods from the area? Do you cook/bake? Do you have something you like to make or always make? What are your go-to breakfast, lunch, dinner foods? Do you have a treat you love? Favorite places to eat?

Favorite food - Anything Mexican, particularly if there's great salsa. I love the many dishes that can be concocted from beans, rice, fresh veggies, some great salsa, and a tortilla. I love the textures and flavor combinations. I enjoy eating at Joe Bandido's in Springville, Cafe Rio, and when Scott and I travel (and I have Jenna now involved) we try to find a Mexican restaurant to eat at at least once on our trip. The interpretation of Mexican food in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, London, even Hawaii and Alaska differ.

Least favorite food - meat. I haven't eaten red meat in about 35 years, and it's only been in the past 7 years that I have begun eating chicken, turkey, and fish, all minimally. I do not like cooked eggs, I don't really care for cheese, and my body does not handle milk-anything.

And I don't like bouncy foods - hamburger, eggs, gummies, jelly beans, cheese curds, jello, macaroni; I have a long list of bouncies I cannot handle, and those who love me love to tease me about this, but keep the foods away from me!

Strangest food - I'll eat anything that comes from a plant; I find great joy in discovering new fruits and vegetables. However, the strangest food I have ever eaten was a soft shell crab sandwich in Seattle, WA, with my friend, Debra Hanks. We were at this swanky restaurant overlooking the bay, at lunch time. The menu was strictly seafood, fresh, and I followed her when she ordered the sandwich. I thought it would be a patty of crab, but no, it was the entire crab, deep fried, on a sesame seed bun, with legs hanging out around the bun. I had no idea what to do, so I politely picked at it, then turned to Debra and laughingly told her I had no idea how to eat the sandwich, and I wasn't sure I could, regardless. She laughed and said the same thing. Whew!

Comfort foods - home canned raspberries, Thom Ka soup from Bangkok Grill, popcorn, halibut and fries from Arctic Circle.

Road trip foods - Diet Pepsi and salted pumpkin seeds!

I do cook and bake - I enjoy cooking lots of fresh veggies, an occasional piece of meat. I don't make lots of saucy stuff, and I'm not a fan of casseroles. I enjoy baking and experimenting with baking, but I cannot, for the life of me, make a traditional loaf of bread. Go figure.

Traditional meals:
Breakfast - muffin, yogurt, fruit.
Lunch - 1/3 cup mixed nuts, apple, Diet Pepsi.
Dinner - fresh veggies - either baked, stir-fried, grilled, or salad, with beans, rice, potatoes, and a piece of chicken of some sort.

For treats I love Dark Chocolate Almonds from Sprouts, Almond Joys, York Peppermint patties, fresh baked cookies, good dark chocolate, Kettle Corn, Caramel Popcorn, anything salty.

Favorite places to eat include Thai, Asian, Mexican, Indian, and good old Art City Trolley.

The best meal I've ever had was at a Moroccan restaurant in Amsterdam, on Albert Cuyp Market, Albert Cuypstraat, 2 years ago. Incredible. I didn't want the meal to end.