The Zahir's Lessons

"...in the present there is always a space as vast as the steppes waiting to be filled up with more love and with more of life's joy." - The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

On Monday and part of Tuesday this past week, my stress from work was manifesting itself in terrible pain in my shoulders and upper back. I felt short of breath, mentally clouded and the mobility in my neck was limited. All of this was, of course, drastically impeding any progress I was trying to make at work, causing this awful negative spiral. Quite unpleasant.

I have been reading The Zahir, recommended by the awesome Cristina, and have had to read slowly to fully contemplate the intense lessons at work. Similar to The Omnivore's Dilemma, this is the type of book that I would (and maybe have) chased people around to relentlessly tell them how good it is. Seriously, read it, you'll love it.

While reading it, I have learned a lot, but mostly noticed that I put a lot of effort into tuning in to the present moment. Previously, yoga practice and teachers have told me to pay attention to the now, but I mostly heard this advice while I was on my mat suffering through, I mean, getting stronger with, each pose.

The Zahir gets credit for pushing me to apply that lesson to the rest of my life too. I mean really, in the United States, we spend roughly 230 days each year at work, give or take based on your holiday/vacation schedule. Regardless of how you feel about your job - love it, hate it, or love/hate it - it is going to cause stress for you and potentially people in your family/your roommates or neighbors. Of course, coworkers and supervisors can be difficult, projects can go off track or be delayed. BUT since Tuesday, I have found it enormously helpful to focus my energy on how I respond to the situation and what good things have happened that day. (This amazing weather and commuting on my new, awesome and as yet unnamed bike is making this task particularly easy, for now.)

Overnight, I gained a sense of control of dealing with anyone or anything in the best way that I can given the circumstances. I lost that gross feeling in my shoulders. I can fully move my neck again! I have realized that I literally do not want to spend any more of my time - at work, at home, or anywhere in between - taking on stress and allowing it to color the rest of my time. I have sort of a lot of time left on the Earth, hopefully, so I want to be smart and happy about how I spend it. Overall, I feel a great sense of possibility and ...freedom.

"Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose - and commit myself to - what is best for me." - The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Wisdom from the All-Terrain Human

What matters in life is the pursuit, and everything we learn along the way. “The important thing,” he said, “is moving.”

Word.

Note: somewhat risque photo with this Times article, but the article is astounding, so read it. Just not with someone peaking over your shoulder that can't handle a (very sculpted and unclothed) human body.

Celebrate

It is hard to believe it has only been a week and change since that oddly sunny, warm April day where we all spent the day inside, anxiously glued to the television/computer/rapid fire media information available on Twitter and Facebook. Similar to what I've heard others say, I was feeling a bit emotionally hungover for several days... finally feeling back to myself, I've realized that a lot of my personal coping has been through celebrating, in the broadest sense of the word, since sometimes these celebrations were more like sad or mournful recognition of the events during and around the Marathon. Here are some of the ways I've been celebrating and recognizing those lost and the strength and beauty of the Boston community. Please note: everyone is going to process all of this differently, so celebrating may not always be the answer - just thought this might be helpful for anyone still feeling a bit "off".

On Saturday, Ben and I walked the whole Freedom Trail - I feel our status as Bostonians is called into question a bit here since this is something hardly any natives have done but whatever. We were even offered quite a few tours. (It was my goal to look as touristy as possible - apparently, mission accomplished.) What we realized with all of our historical stops along the way, is that this city has a long and intense history of people standing up for what is right even if it is risky. The volunteers and first responders acted as true Bostonians would on Monday and Friday of last week.

On Monday, I went to the church near my office for the moment of silence at 2:50pm simply to be with other people and away from my desk. I stayed for a few minutes to send some love and strength out to people recovering from all kinds of injuries. I left and heard church bells ringing not just from where I had just emerged, but also another church down the street. Knowing that they were ringing all across the state and that we had all stopped to take a moment of reflection made me smile.

Stopped to take this photo of the "Boston Strong" MBTA bus messages on Tuesday:

Glimpsed some photos of Sean Collier's service at MIT on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, I went to Newbury St and Boylston St for a little Birthday Eve sushi with Jane followed by some shopping. It felt good to be out and about in the sunshine of the Back Bay and amongst others who seemed carefree and happy.

Later that night, I stopped by the makeshift memorial for Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, Martin Richard and Sean Collier. There are loads of flowers, stuffed animals, signs and gifts. This was not as fun, with many crying or hugging, but it's certainly important to recognize the loss of young, promising lives. It was also heartwarming that the monument was more crowded than any of the stores I had been in before.

Thursday, I went to the Sox game, where the crowd clapped just as enthusiastically for Big Papi's first home run of the season as they did for the five firefighters recognized during the game.

And finally, snapped this beautiful blooming tree on Friday...

Boston, You're Our Home.

Well said, Katie Lannan: 

To be in Boston on Marathon Monday is to feel a buzz in the air, like it’s the last day of classes before summer break, or it’s 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve and your boss just sent out an email that you can all go home at 3. It’s feeling a sense of excitement, euphoria, electricity, and to know that sense is shared by everyone you pass. It’s high-fives from strangers, it’s sidewalk barbecues, it’s families enjoying a day together, it’s even sometimes Red Sox fans celebrating a win. It’s what Disneyworld pretends to be.

To be on Heartbreak Hill, on Beacon Street, on Comm Ave, in the home stretch on Boylston–to be in Boston–during the marathon is to feel Boston’s pulse, to become a part of it.

Sending wishes for safety and comfort to you, your family and friends. 

Dogs. Wearing. Pantyhose.

Yes, Happy Monday indeed! Photos of dogs wearing pantyhose are all you need to jump aboard this train.

Many thanks to Cristina for sharing memes popular in China.

Happy National Public Health Week!

Despite all of the griping I do on here about pizza not being a vegetable, apparently the field of public health is making progress. Look at all of this super duper stuff we do!

...and if you're not the readin' type, watch this video, made by the American Public Health Association, outlining different public health initiatives' return on investment - meaning for every $1 invested in [insert initiative here] there is $[much larger than $1] saved in future costs. Yeah, it's awesome.

Enjoy!

Girl Rising

In public health, at least within the social and behavioral sciences, you learn in your first semester about "fundamental cause theory" which was developed by Phelan and Link while they researched the association between health disparities and socioeconomic status (SES). They found that even after smaller, more immediate obstacles to health care were overcome, or improvements in health care were made, individuals with low SES still had higher morbidity and mortality than their similar counterparts with high SES. This is because SES embodies such a wide variety of factors in an individual's life - from the knowledge they have to the economic resources they obtain to the social connections they nurture - which all contribute to their overall health.

Education is one of the major contributing factors to SES. In many societies, most highly paid, highly respected jobs require education and training and are out of reach to those without the necessary degrees. In many countries, girls go without an education, either because they are married very young, their family needs them to go to work instead, or it is simply seen by parents as useless to educate daughters compared to sons. Regardless of why, the lack of education often means that girls are having more children at a younger age, lower lifetime earnings, and in turn their children are less educated.

Girl Rising is a film about 9 girls around the world who overcome different obstacles to get to school because they know that an education is important. There will be a screening in Braintree, MA on April 23 at the newly renovated theater, provided we get a few more people to join and demonstrate a demand for the film. So come on, reserve your ticket (of which a portion of the sale goes to organizations working to increase access to education for girls and basic health necessities for everyone) - whether you're interested in education, global projects that target fundamental causes, the resiliency of young human spirits, or just comfy chairs and buttery popcorn... this is the movie for you!

Okay, I'm off my soapbox. Now I just want 37 more people to sign up so I can see this movie. Preferably with friends.