I continue to ponder on the connection between how cells cooperate and connect to each other in order to work I am working on a poem but strangely it just doesn’t work yet. Hope abounds and I will continue to work on it.
For some reason the connections between Brene Brown and Mukerjee continue to resonate with me. If only we could learn to put aside our differences for our similarities.I can visualize a world in which connections are always there. If only!!
I’ve been reading the book “the Song of the Cell” by Siddhartha Mukerjee and his owrk has morphed into connections with other things I have been reading. I am stunned by the number of times I have been made aware of the importance of connectivity.
Connectivity is the central point in the thougths of Brene Brown and others and now I am seeing it in the book by Mukerjee. Connectivity goes from its importance in the functioning of the human body and every other living thing to connectivity we see in each society. It has made me realize that all of what we are relies on being connected. From the smallist examples to societal groups, countries, continents, to earth and beyond.
The problem is that we don’t see the importance of it. We are unable to see that when even the smallest parts of cells don’t communicate nothing works. Society is so compartmentalized that we believe that our part can function forever without the rest. But if the cells in the heart don’t communicate and work together the whole organism fails. I so wish that there were some way that we could realize that this applies to everything in the world.
For a while I didn’t write. I don’t know why. It seems as if thoughts were dormant. Nothing new, Nothing to write home about.
Now it is as if I have found new thoughts, new ideas and something to write.That’s why there are two posts today. One some wanderings of the mind and the other a “glad to be back.”
The weather has changed again. We go from ninety something degrees two forty degrees. You can never figure out what to wear.
At last after being here almost two years I am loving my apartment and feel at home. It’s always good to remember that nothing is ever perfect. And we can’t expect it to be. I am still amazed At the people who live here. It is like a brain trust here. There are so many people with p h d’s and amazing life experiences.
Crash does really well for a big dog in a small space. He ages along with me and we both move slower than we used to.
We have lifelong learning classes that we can choose to attend. At the moment I am going to a philosophy of aging class that is very interesting. I don’t think I will ever want to stop learning. Curiosity is a wonderful thing. I am also reading an amazing book the song of the cell. I can’t even pretend to spell the name of the person who wrote it but it is really good. He won a Pulizer Prize for his first book which was about cancer. His writing style is easy to read and makes If it’s something that interests difficult topic easy going. If it is something that interests you check it out.
I have been cleaning out my bookshelf. We have a library here and I will donate some books. It is always hard to give books away. They have been my friends and companions my whole life. A few of them are that old. Many of them I have read multiple times and will read again. I have too many books on my Kindle and for some reason don’t enjoy reading there as with a book in my hand. It just feels right.
I will post about new books I loved another day. Peace and Love.
The weather here is miserable. It is 40 F and raining hard. Going out this morning was the first time I have seen Crash run in forever. He did not like that much rain and came in soaked.
Tonight, for the first time, I am having a few people over for egg nog and cookies. My apartment is so small (and I do love it) that it can only take a few people at a time. Later I may do this again. Being able to do this is a real step forward for me. I used to love having friends in but here I kept thinking it was too small.
There are still people here with covid. I know that over time everyone will get it but most people have a lite dose because of the vaccinations. The hospitals are full because of covid, flu and RSV. RSV was a big problem for us when I worked with six pediatricians. It was really dangerous for infants. Now it has changed and is a problem for those who are at high risk. It is so sad to see the hospitals full again. I hope most people are able to get back home for Christmas.
A long time ago I ended up in the hospital over Christmas and cried a lot missing my family…especially my children.There are still people here with covid. I know that over time everyone will get it but most people have a lite dose because of the vaccinations. The hospitals are full because of covid, flu and RSV. RSV was a big problem for us when I worked with six pediatricians. It was really dangerous for infants. Now it has changed and is a problem for those who are at high risk. It is so sad to see the hospitals full again. I hope most people are able to get back home for Christmas.
I hope that everyone will manage to stay well and have a wonderful holiday! Peace, Suzanne
I posted this on my other site but realized that I wanted to share it here also.
I have long been a believer in the “butterfly effect.” The idea that somehow we are all connected. I see this in so many ways. There is a wonderful children’s book called “The Invisible String” that tells us that love is one of the ways we are connected and it is the “invisible string” that never goes away even with death.
Sometimes we have a strong feeling of connection to someone we have never physically met. I feel that way about some people I connect with on this blog. I hear their voice through their words. I have a sense of who they are and feel connected. Because I don’t know them otherwise I could be wrong but there is still something there. Kindness and compassion are clearly felt.
We are connected to the people we see in our everyday lives. It could be seeing the same grocery clerk every week or someone we meet for lunch. People touch us in our work. Obviously some of these links can be good or bad but there is still a connection. Each of us has an impact on those around us.
We are connected to those who have gone before us. We may not know about them or we may have heard stories about their lives. They are present in our DNA. We often find that there are personality traits that have been passed on. People say that I look like my great grandmother. Pictures do show a strong connection.
In the church where I worked for years there is a sense in the building of the lives that have gone before. It is something I feel when I sit in silence in the sanctuary. It is as if the “communion of saints” is physically present.
Don’t doubt that we are all connected. The things that I do each day affects others. Science tells us that nothing is lost…just changed. What I do matters. What you do matters.
“The tendrils that connect one human being to another are so unlikely so inherently fragile…I think that is it s a miracle they exist at all.”
From the TV program Numbers
Connecting with one another is so key to how we live. I have always needed those connections and tend to nurture them. Without them I am lost.
Whether we are connecting to the family that raised us or family that we choose and continue to choose from those we meet those connections form us. They are the glue that hold us together. The support that we receive from others makes our lives manageable. The love of those connected by those tendrils is what brings joy to our journey through life.
It is a miracle and one that I depend on and rejoice over every day.
Grief is a funny thing. Some people think it follows the pattern of acceptance by Kubler-Ross. That pattern was actually developed about acceptance of a coming death. In my mind grief is different. Having run two years of grief support group and feeling my own grief I think it is much more erratic. It comes and goes like the waves of the ocean. I am certainly feeling that. I can go along just fine and then suddenly something will trigger tears.
We can’t run away from grief. Instead we have to go through it. We have to experience it. Hiding from it or trying to deny it doesn’t work. It can take a long time. Sometimes people have no idea what to say to us when we have a loss. Some comments can be upsetting but we just have to understand that most are well meaning.
It has been and will continue to be particularly hard due to the circumstances we all find ourselves in. Covid doesn’t allow us to do normal things that help us accept a death. Funerals are done with few people or put off until later.
In my case there is also moving to another city away from longtime friends. Being with family has helped but I am not in my long-term home and things are not as usual. I reach out by phone and electronics but it is not the same. I am lonely and missing my place in things. It will get better when we can be with people but for now it is hard.
My faith helps and I find myself leaning on God for support more than usual. I guess loss makes us reach out and understand what is important to us. God is my rock that I stand on.
We all grieve in our own way and I will move through this and find new friends and people to do things with. Being able to go to church will help. Life does go on.
It has been so long since I have posted that I feel lost. For some reason after my husband’s death I just stopped for a while. It is time to be back. First let me thank everyone for your kind messages of sympathy. They were much appreciated and helped me at a time when I needed help.
Now I hope to get back to my normal writing. I have thought about so many things during this hiatus and will be sharing thoughts and ideas. Life is never boring and always has something to teach us if we are willing to learn. Wisdom does come with age if we choose to learn as we go. I have much to learn still and am still curious about life and the world around me. I hope I never stop learning until I leave this earth.
Glad to be back. Peace, Suzanne
worry-less-journey 