Yellow Beets, Ballard Farmer’s Market, June 2015

I thought things slowed down during the hot summer months, but this week the news has been heating up: SCOTUS decides on gay marriage rights, Obama works on his bucket list, ISIS puts out more scary video, the Confederate flag goes down. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death, and in Yulin, so have the dogs. In my house, the princess puppy has medical issues that cost a small tuition. So here we are, June, the third day of summer, going gangbusters on cultural contradictions and moral debates.

Me? I am trying to write a 250-word In Medias Res for a workshop and a book proposal for a writer’s conference on Friday, reboot my manuscript writing now that I have my other shoulder moving again. I seem to be rushing, worrying, not getting sleep. The everyday has been stressful, between morning espresso and afternoon tea, deadlines and dinner. Flipping open my iPad or MacBook all day and night, or my cellphone and  the newspaper to skim the craziness. I send emails from bed, start the day reading texts. This does not feel so healthy.

A great Facebook post popped up today, beginning,

“Note to Self:

None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought”. 

Pause. Whoa. And repost. How do we put ourselves first, the bad news on the back burner, the cellphone in the kitchen drawer? The post ends,

“Be silly. Be kind. Be weird. There’s no time for anything else.”

Today I took a moment to browse a neighborhood second-hand shop and found a small buddha necklace. In a few minutes, I’m going to step away from my computer and stretch, then walk for another coffee. I’m going to say ‘hello’ to everyone I pass. Because then there’s that: We are all together walking this earth, despite our differences, we are all important. Though I’m not going to visit Yulin anytime soon.

What are you going to do for yourself today?