I set the alarm for 7 and actually got up shortly after. Elsa and I headed up the hill. I find the walk easier every day. This also means that I take fewer steps because I find it easier to execute a wider stride. My muscles no longer ache. I will have to speed up my efforts to get the same effect.
I saw a mother and daughter walking. The mother looked like she had a limp. When I watched her from behind, I noticed that her heel strikes were uneven. She placed the edge of her right heel down, but on the left side, she didn't bring her leg through far enough and placed her heel down flat without that necessary foot roll to maintain health.
I saw Craig and David on the walk. David introduced me to Phil and Carol. Then I saw the Carol I had met the other day. She said that a white car had driven illegally on the footpath and was parked by the entrance to the walkway. She assumed they were waiting for a drug pick-up. I learned later that she had just moved recently from Oregon. While I know that we have a serious drug problem here and a homeless problem, she only reports the negative each morning. Yesterday, it was about the dogs at Dennett's house where the homeless live.
Dennett, an elderly homeowner with some dementia, has welcomed the homeless to live on her property. They are not the neatest people on earth. I have no idea why they can't keep the property in an orderly way. Garbage is just piled up. It would cost them nothing to drive it to the dump. They have cars. People have tried to get rid of them, assuming they are taking advantage of Dennett, but she does not cooperate with the authorities, so there is nothing anyone can do. It is a blight on the neighborhood, not to mention a possible danger of dealing drugs. This home is about ¾ of a mile from mine, not an immediate threat. However, I believe homeless people are living in the empty lot at the end of the block. I have no problem with it as long as they are not dealing drugs or presenting a danger to anyone.
I ran into Paulette (not Judy's sister), Mary Ann, and Mary Ann's dog, Dude, on my way down the hill. I shared my newly gained knowledge about the Easter Island statues; they are fiberglass with cement cover and were imported from China. I also had information about the woman I saw walking into the property the other day. She is definitely the housekeeper. Again, she was talking in a foreign language on the phone as she walked. When she entered the property, she sat on a low wall to finish her call. If she was the lady of the house, she would have felt entitled to conclude that call inside the house.
I stopped by to revisit the Easter Island statues. At first, I thought they had lost their impact on me. It took a minute, but again this wonderful calm came over me. I supposed once the owner finishes his project, that gate will be closed, and I will no longer have that access to them. Hopefully, he stays busy with this project for the duration of this pandemic and my confinement.
When I got home, I immediately washed my hands, turned the teapot on to prepare hot water for Elsa's food. I then wiped down the top of her head and chin with rubbing alcohol, where people we met on our walk pet her, holding her while it evaporated. I'm going to have to ask people not to do that. There is still only one recorded case of the virus on the Big Island where I live. But we don't have a sound testing system in place, so we can't be sure. What we do know is our hospitals aren't flooded with cases yet.
Yvette had contacted me earlier to say she was heading out to Target. Did I need anything? Yes. Hersey Kisses with almonds. She delivered a shopping bag with two 2 lb. bags of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses with almonds and seven XL chocolate bars. She told me she had to go to several stores to get what she got. Stores are not anxious to stock chocolate. Do they know what they're doing?
I did over 10,00 steps today, one round of the 5 Tibetan Rites, and I meditated.
Yvette texted me to let me know that her brother's girlfriend's mother and sisters living in NYC have been diagnosed with Covid-19. The girls should be fine, but her mother is already suffering from lung disease. Lilith hopped on the next plane heading east. She wanted to be with her family at a time like this. It certainly doesn't sound good.
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Musings:
Finishing up the NY Sunday Times from last week, I came across an article on procrastination. They said procrastination is not a result of poor time management, but it is caused by a need to avoid negative emotions. Boy, do I understand that.
While I have 'known' this about myself, I have never dealt with it appropriately. My way of dealing with it is, "let's play another hour of FreeCell." The author spoke about sitting with the negative feelings until they cleared using mindfulness. I know how to do that. You'd think I would have that aced, but I don't. I am a class A procrastinator.
I try to tell myself I could line up activities that get something worthwhile done – other than acing several games of FreeCell, but I can't do that.
I do well when I have to do something for another person. This is one reason I love teaching, mainly because I am working with students individually and often am excited by the ideas I'm generating. Man, I can put hours of work in without pause when expanding some concept that excites me.
The article also said that the worst procrastinators are writers. I get that. I'm doing all right with the blog, probably because it started as something I was doing for others. I used it to keep people up to date with what was going on with Mike. However, I'm not doing as well with the book.
I hope that with this reminder, I can learn to deal with my negative feelings and get on with what I want to do, some chore.
I remember asking for help with this with a therapist I was working with. She was contemptuous of my concern. She wasn't going to help me to do a better job with my filing. Well, that was one of the issues. Organizing my physical world so I could make Mike's life happier.
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