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Last night, my husband and I watched author and bookstore owner Ann Patchett give her summer reading picks on the PBS News Hour. I wrote down the books she recommended and was ready to order them all from my local bookstore. Then, a realization: what I really wanted was not another pile of books waiting to be read, but the fantasy of my family and me having the time to read all those books this summer.
I’m somewhat of a private person, as are my family members; a writer’s tightrope is sharing enough to connect with readers, yet not so much that one of my people reminds me that they didn’t sign up for public life. So forgive me for being a little cagey when I share what’s happening now, and why I’ll get one or two of Ms. Patchett’s recommendations, but not more.
Recently, one of my beloved people closest to me in the world got a diagnosis, and then a flare-up of an ongoing illness. In the past two weeks, there was the medical news, an ER visit, time in various hospital departments (gastrointestinal was preferable to cardiac, in our experience), lots of tests, dozens of doctor phone calls, and coordination to rival a global political summit. The person at the center of all this attention is handling everything brilliantly, which is more than I can say for us dwarf planets in their orbit.
This kind of life event puts time, and what we choose to do with it, in interesting perspective. Summer brings with it visions of having time for vacations and weekends away, during which you read those summer books you got for just this time off. When someone you love beyond words is going through a medical challenge, you get verrrrry picky about what gets your time and attention. All those emails? Deleted. Worrying about this or that little thing? Mentally deleted.
What’s left is clear space for thinking, and not thinking; self-care and rest; breathing and being.
You don’t need a medical diagnosis or life challenge to make choices about your time. You can start right now. There’s no time like the present, which, as Eckhart Tolle reminded us, is the only time we really live in.
One thing I want to keep having time for is connecting with you through these newsletters, though realistically, I’ll need to make adjustments. Yoga Mind will resume next week, but if you don’t get a newsletter from me each week as usual this summer, that means I’m doing what the Yoga tools prepare us for: living, meeting events of life as they come, gathering information that will determine the next right action, breathing through challenges, sighing with relief. Hopefully lots of the latter.
I feel very positive, very optimistic. All indications and information lead toward good news. As for me, I feel fortunate and glad to be able to be there and be helpful in any way I can. At the beginning of the pandemic lockdown, a friend said, “I don’t see any reason I can’t come out of this a better person than I went in.” I feel the same, and I feel My Person is going to also come out ahead of this.
Among my preparations for a summer of service will be several knitting/crochet projects and, of course, books—not all of the Patchett picks, but one or two. I hope you’ll have a good book companion during this summer, whether you’re at the beach or in a waiting room.
xOMx,
Suzan
Thinking of you and your people ❤️
All else falls by the wayside when one of our beloveds is affected by whatever. Rightly so. Breathing, loving one another and doing the next right thing are so right, even without a medical scare. Thanks for sharing this, Suzan. Healing energies lofted your way. ♥️