Staying Sane (more or less)

Hello All,

I hope this finds all of you staying healthy – physically, emotionally and spiritually. These are definitely different and sometimes difficult times. So I thought I would share a number of things that I have discovered that have been helping me stay sane (relatively sane anyway) and are allowing me to continue to learn fun things while on quarantine. Whether you are at home or need to relax when coming home after a busy shift, I hope these help!

I love to travel. So Viking (of riverboat and ocean cruise fame) has created Viking TV, virtual travel from home! Monday is devoted to museums. Historian Tuesday – Arts and Music Wednesday – Guest Speaker Thursday – At Home at Highclere Castle on Friday – all designed to take your mind off of your current four walls! And if you love museums (and I love them!), then you can “travel” closer to home and tour the Chrysler Museum from your couch! Go to the Chrysler website and click on Chrysler from Home – and enjoy the treasures!

I don’t know about you, but I am craving uplifting stories. There are days I have just heard one too many things about COVID-19. The perfect place for that is John Krasinki’s YouTube series “Some Good News”. He started this because he wanted to create positivity and hope during these crazy times. It is awesome!

Want some wildlife? (Pun intended!) You can livestream the beautiful Northern Lights. Not only are these lights incredible to see, they are so calming. Want to visit the zoo? You only need to Google “zoo cams” and what an abundance of riches! Zoos and aquariums at your fingertips – including the meerkat cam at the Metro Richmond Zoo! Otters, elephants, whales and so many other fun animals to watch. If you really want calm and slow, the sloth cam provides! (Though sloths are one of my favorite animals, they may not be your most exciting choice!)

 Music has been a saving grace as well. Not just listening to my favorite stations, but also the special events that are occurring. You must check out Andrea Bocelli’s Music for Hope. He performed this in Milan, Italy and made it accessible to the world! His performance of “Amazing Grace” is unbelievable. Camden Voices, one of London’s foremost vocal groups, sings a wonderful version of “True Colors” while socially distancing. My new favorite though is a hospital choir. The University of Texas MD Anderson has an employee choir that has been in existence for more than 50 years! It is currently 160 employees strong – doctors, nurses, techs, social workers, administrative associates, analysts, IT folks and so many more. Recently 28 members gathered virtually and performed Bruno Mars’ “Count on Me”. Inspirational!

Take time to relax – to mentally refresh – to journey beyond the “current” to other places, to other realms. Take care of you!

Phyl

P.S. – One piece of COVID-19 related stuff! I have added my name to the growing list to name Dr. Fauci the Sexiest Man Alive for 2020!