TREATING THE DIS-EASE

    Spoiler alert-there is a bit of positive thought ahead but first the news.

    Child psychologist Dr Ava Siegler says we are in the midst of a "national disaster" and parents are the first responders.

    Dr Siegler and others in psychology says decency, civility, knowledge and truthfulness "are not values of the trump government."

data points

     The recent George Washington University poll finds

• 71% of voters say trump's behavior is not what they expect from a President
• 68% of Americans believe his words and actions could accidentally get us involved in an international conflict
• 63% of Americans say the country is on the wrong track

    Another study tells us what we learn from the news, most Americans are anxious about trump's affect on the surge in white supremacy.

the therapy

    David H. Rosmarin a professor at Harvard Medical school and the director of the Spirituality and Mental Health Program at McLean Hospital has good advice.

    Rosmarin says we should set aside 1-3 minutes a day to worry about the worst things that can happen and accept the reality that we are not in control. 

     He suggests we take time off from the news and social media. 

     Dr Rosmarin and many of his colleagues tell us that in these days of trump we should eat well, work out, and work on personal relationships.

     There is a consensus we should spend time with friends and loved ones and focus on enjoying the company and the good feelings of the moment.

     

     Indeed many of us feel a sense of depression. Normally mellow and relaxed people are trapped in a sense of anger and even rage. 

     As parents and grandparents we should tell children the meanness, selfishness, ego centricity  and lies of the president and some of his supporters and advisors are anti American, wrong and-this is important-will eventually be punished or corrected. 

     This reminds me of the "bad things happen to good people" advice and help books. Most of us have faced challenges and difficulties, uncertain of outcomes. In those periods we are counseled to rely on those we love and care for, people and belief, to understand however desperate a situation there are things for which to be grateful and to remember, all things change, this too will pass. 

     I'm not advocating this, but simply reporting-as we have communicated with our grand daughter, and even with  adults, about how wrong is the behavior, tone and mood of the president, especially his pathological lies, we feel better.

    Telling the truth and affirming the positive values that once undergirded this democratic republic is a one day at a time way of combating the tension, toxicity and corruption of this time in America.

catch the good beams when you can

    See you down the trail.

     

INTO THE VALLEY and KATE MCKINNON AS Rx

   Time and energy is spent, being angry, worrying about being angry, getting active or worrying about getting active. We'll get to that, but first a deep breath and a quick road trip to clear the head.

 To Californians who have suffered 5 years of drought, green is a precious color and soothing. Please indulge these few frames from scenic Highway 46, the Green Valley Road. 

    In the early days it was a dirt mountain trail. Paved in the 1930s, it was a connecter from the Pacific Coast east to Paso Robles. The modern highway was built in 1970.

   The connection with Highway 1, aka Pacific Coast Highway, is 1 mile southeast of Cambria and about a mile from the Pacific Ocean, visible from the crest over the Santa Lucia Mountains coastal range. 

     We drive the highway all the time and never tire of its beauty, even more spectacular in the green season.

    As along Highway 1 and the 101 there are patches of the old roads and stage coach trails still visible.

   It is hard to be angry when absorbing the beauty, or when breathing deeply. 

    Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese monk, wrote Living Buddha Living Christ and tells of an easy deep breathing exercise that anyone can do. Sit quietly, still your mind and breathe in, thinking only about your breath and then exhale while smiling. Repeat the action a few times. You will find yourself relaxed, feeling better and less angry. If you wish to go deeper, begin with the deep breath and smiling exhale, then breath in again thinking only about the moment of your breath and then exhale thinking about how lovely the moment is. It is an ancient and healthy technique. It can't hurt you, but anger can!

    It is like an epidemic and in conversation everywhere. I've been surprised at how angry so many of us are, present company included. We understand why and in that is a modicum of strength. So many millions of American livid about the political reality and the man who is the toxic pathology of it. It is an historic revulsion and as in medical diagnosis it is a symptom of something ill in the body. In this case the body politic is reacting and warning us. 

    Unprecedented in our lives. The closest thing we may recall, those of us of certain age, were the mass movements of the civil rights era and the struggle to end the Vietnam war. For younger Americans there was the brief flicker of the Occupy movement. 

    It has been a while since so many have been so politically active-writing letters, e-mails, making calls, going to huddles, talking about direct actions and marching. It is a season of caring and politics and we should take care to remain focused.

COMIC RELIEF IS GOOD AND WE HAVE A QUEEN

     Bravo to Kate McKinnon of Saturday Night Live. As the American political horror show has progressed, McKinnon has made us laugh with cunning craft, skill and a rapier comedic genius.

      The 33 year old Columbia grad did a "spot-on" Hillary Clinton. But since the debacle she has done masterful take downs of Kellyanne Conway, destined to be hall of fame bits. 

      Just this last week she did another lethal job on Conway, turning her into a Fatal Attraction parody of Glen Close as a crazed stalker going after CNN's Jake Tapper. She also played the Attorney General Jefferson Sessions and just to show she can inflict bipartisan comedy, McKinnon did a number embodying Elizabeth Warren's zeal all in one show. She is an extraordinary talent and that talent is helping millions of Americans laugh and that is especially good.  

  See you down the trail.