There are so many serious things on my mind these days. Sometimes it seems that I no sooner resettle myself from one than I read or hear about another.

Concerns

There was hurricane Nicholas, not a major problem here in Houston, but it did cause a lot of flooding in areas farther east, including Louisiana, which has not yet gotten itself back on track from the last hurricane.

Within the past week or so, I learned of six personal acquaintances who got COVID-19, Delta variant. Four were adults who had been vaccinated. Three of those, even one 81 year old neighbor, had very mild cases, just as the scientists and medical professionals predicted for vaccinated individuals. They now see this in practice.

The fourth acquaintance, an elderly man who is obese and has heart trouble, was, last I heard, still in the hospital. He is married to the 81-year-old woman who had a mild case. As if she didn’t have enough on her plate already, their son had a stroke and is paralyzed down one side. He is in a rehab facility. My heart aches for this sweet lady.

The other two Delta patients are young children of a friend of mine. Their school district does not require masks.

Hospitals and small neighborhood emergency clinics here in Houston are overwhelmed. A friend of mine was injured in an automobile accident and was not able to get x-rays for several days. She couldn’t get into a hospital ER, and the neighborhood critical care clinics were all closed. I assume that was to prevent such clinics from being overwhelmed with Covid patients they are not equipped to handle.

People have died while waiting for treatments such as heart surgery. A boy with appendicitis died when his appendix burst after hours in the waiting room.

Having learned a lesson from my friend who was in the accident, and the other people who had to wait too long to be treated for non-Covid conditions, I am taking extra care while driving or even walking up and down stairs. I have gone back to masking and distancing about as much as I did at this time last year, even though I am fully vaccinated–and not just because of Covid. I want to stay completely well and healthy until normal medical care is readily available.

How I Lift My Spirits

A doctor of my acquaintance told me that, for the first time in her life, she was feeling depressed. I sent her a list of things I use to lift my mood, and she thanked me profusely. I want to share one of them, in particular, with you in this post: Bob Brezsny’s Free Will Astrology, which appears at the beginning of every week in The Good News Network e-zine.

I have no idea whether or not heavenly bodies influence our lives. I do know that, every week, I find an uplifting thought for my sign, Pisces. I often print these out and place them beside my workstation so I can read them often. One was a quotation about Michelangelo, a fellow Piscean. He was described as, “A font of ever-refreshing Grace, a fluid treasure that emanates refined beauty and wild innocence.” Reading and reflecting on that every day helped me replace unpleasant feelings about my concerns with a focus on beauty and hope. It made me want to be that beauty and bring that hope to others.

Another week, Brezsny featured a Piscean woman who had learned that sometimes it’s OK to be just OK. This helped me let go of some of my perfectionism with respect to things that don’t really need to be my very best.

The closest he comes to a warning will not be phrased, “Beware of…” One of mine suggested that, for the coming week, I make sure that anything I purchase is really what it appears to be. This is so very compatible with my belief that, while remaining aware of issues we might be able to help, we focus on the positive things we want instead, such as good weather, health and the like.

I believe that might be why my favorite free will horoscope so far is, “All day today I’ve had the most gentle, strengthening joy, because I’m beginning to heal. Consciously, happily, I feel that I am being born anew, that I am beginning once again to take possession of the light.” He suggested reading it a few times a day would it help me make it a reality, and it has.

Try It

Here’s a link to the free will astrology for this week. I suggest that you set aside the question of whether or not you believe in astrology, and ask yourself if you could use a helpful and heartening thought for the week. Then, read the paragraph for your sign.

I would be very interested to know how you react and what happens if you focus on these positive ideas. So please send me your comments below.