Many of us have retreated to the perceived safety of our homes, opting for isolation to endure our anxieties over viruses, fluctuating stock markets, canceled events, and general uncertainty. Winter is hard on our mental state, it disrupts our biological clocks, and makes us susceptible to restlessness, sadness, food cravings, frequent napping, and an inability to handle stress. They call it cabin fever. After weeks of hibernation, long dreary nights, and gray gloomy days, it is easy to feel down in the dumps.

Thankfully, Spring is in the air. Daylight lasts longer, temperatures warm, and we dare to hope. They say the best method of coping is to get outside, enjoy a walk outdoors, and soak up the sun. Humans crave social interactions. Even though we spend countless hours on social media sites, scrolling through our feeds and monitoring our friend’s updates, we need to remember to sign out of our accounts and connect in a more meaningful fashion.

A wonderful thing happened this week. My phone has not stopped ringing, beeping, and chiming. Friends and family members have been reaching out, checking in, and touching base. I now have coffee dates, lunch plans, and informal meetups. These are the connections that matter. They are the people we turn to when the going gets tough. When life is uncertain, we depend on those we trust. Together we are strong.

Do you owe a call to a friend?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

This time of year, the temperature swings from 30 to 70 degrees and back in a few hours. Rain turns to snow, ice coats every surface, then melts, creating the perfect conditions to weaken our defenses, leaving us susceptible to viruses. I am not concerned about contracting Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The habits my grandmother advocated are still the best practices for remaining healthy today.

Grandma insisted we scrub our hands, face, and under our fingernails, with plenty of soapy warm water whenever we came inside from the big, nasty world. We washed our hands after using the bathroom, before, during, and after we prepared food, served, or ate any meal. Hand washing was vital before applying makeup or contact lenses.

I use a glove or my sleeve when touching public door handles, elevator buttons, and shopping carts. Grandma’s voice reminds me, “You don’t know where that’s been.” I also brush, floss, and gargle to help mitigate any germs that might slip past my defense systems. She advocated avoiding anyone who looked sick, getting enough sleep, staying home the moment we felt ill, and eating lots of chicken soup and forcing liquids.

While these steps aren’t new, I monitor the latest recommendations and sanitize frequently used surfaces, including my phone. The odds are in my favor, and I refuse to worry about circumstances outside of my control. Instead, I live my life and write.

How are you protecting yourself?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Rain, rain, go away. If you lived on a different planet, you might wish it would never rain. Rain, in the form of water, only falls on our blue marble. Venus’ atmospheric condition creates hot sulfuric acid rain. Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, offers icy methane rainstorms. On Mars expect dry-ice snow, Jupiter rains liquid helium, and the Sun provides plasma rain. Most amazing of all, scientists speculate extreme pressure and temperature can create diamonds in the atmospheres of Saturn, Neptune, and Jupiter. At lower levels, the diamonds liquefy and fall as rain on the surface.

We should consider ourselves lucky that we don’t have to contend with flesh-melting precipitation. By comparison, plain old H2O sounds wonderful. Earthly rainfall evokes impressions of sadness, rejection, and despair on chilly gray days. But it also creates feelings of rebirth, emotional and physical cleansing, and renewal. In desert locations, a single shower can lift human spirits, signal relief, and contribute to the continuation of life. The precious water is a cause for celebration.

Writers accept a challenge to transform mundane occurrences, natural phenomenon, and unconnected events and give them new significance. We needn’t live on Saturn to see diamonds glittering in the misty sky. An evening sunset turns showers golden. Moonlight imparts raindrops with silver hues reflecting in puddles, suggesting imminent peril, and we glace over our shoulder as we hurry across the deserted parking lot.

What meaning do you notice in your everyday life?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Monday morning dawns, and I am excited to get a start on my day. After my online training course last week, I spent hours dealing with my overflowing inbox and reworking my weekly agenda. I feel calm as I review the reminders of the work ahead. I have set new deadlines and self-imposed targets in anticipation of recommitting to my dreams.

That’s when it happens. It never fails. The phone rings, the email alerts ding, and questions queue outside my office door. The pressure to respond, and abandon my finely crafted plan, is overwhelming. I am determined to stay on track, check all the boxes, and still support my coworkers. But the more I accomplish, the more items appear on the never-ending list. The adage says if you want something done, ask the busiest person you know.

I am wiser, and I have learned my lesson. While I love to help family, friends, and even total strangers, I politely decline many inquiries, without guilt. My personal list is far more important. Reaching my goals are more satisfying to complete. What I have discovered is, when I reach my goals, helping others becomes easier.

How do you balance your agenda with requests from others?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer