Light Banter

Chapter 2, Stage Four by Chrys Withrow, Big and small miracles happen every day, but we don't always see or recognize them as such. Every once in a while we witness or hear about something so inspirational that we can't deny the phenomenal nature when someone consciously chooses to heal in the face of dire consequences. Chrys shares a story of an associate who made a life-altering decision and lived to share his story of how the doctors tapped into his own immune system to overcome stage four melanoma. It's truly amazing how our bodies can heal themselves as well as the medical advances that assist us with new methods.

Chapter 1, 50-50 by Quinn Barrett, We all have to make tough decisions in life, but what if that choice resulted in a 50-50 chance of living or dying. Well, that's an entirely different ball game. Quinn shares a story of the very recent miraculous healing of a personal mentor and friend. The odds weren't on her side. There was only one doctor willing to step up and perform the complicated surgery despite a myriad of preexisting conditions, but the results were remarkable.

Chapter 3, Rebuilding Joy by Chrys Withrow, The travesty we've endured over the last year-plus with the pandemic and racial violence, we have to acknowledge these events because if we don't, we can't rebuild appropriately. Anytime there is a death, there is a re-birth I believe. If you put a seed in the ground. You bury it. You kill it. It's dead. It grows. That's the way life works as a system. So re-birth is a part of that and as long as we respect and take responsibility for the lessons that we should have learned from the challenges that we've faced in the past rebuilding can be joyful.

Chapter 2, Rebuilding Confidence by Rebecca Gross, Nothing boosts confidence like getting a job. Even better, getting the job you've been wanting. But wait! What if your new dream job comes with a significant raise and you don't even have to negotiate for it because they want you so much that they offer the highest scale possible. So after three interviews in less than a week--a screening phone call interview, a panel interview, and then an hour-long team interview with eight people bombarding you with questions--it was all worth it. Phew! But it wasn't the job that gave Rebecca confidence. It was her process of rebuilding her confidence that earned her the job.

Chapter 1, Rebuilding Zen by Quinn Barrett, Quinn takes us on an abstract spiritual journey, which includes Rumi poetry, Taoist philosophy, and of course a Zen Buddhist story to essentially explain the "new normal" changes courtesy of the pandemic, politics, and protests. It truly has been a season of the worst of times, but with patience and learning to live in the moment, hopefully, we can see the best of times--or at least better times on the horizon.

Chapter 3, Rules for the Game of Life by Rebecca Gross, I actually took this in a slightly different direction. Of course, I could talk about books. I love books. Books were my friends growing up. I have my books that I re-read but the other thing that was a big part of my childhood was video games. There's not much more you can do to immerse yourself in another world than to be playing a character in that fantasy world. There's something very comforting about knowing where the story is going and yet it's different every time based on what's happening within your own reality.

Chapter 2, Relearning Lessons by Chrys Withrow, We all have particular movies, books, even songs that we use in order to touch that spiritual part of us that knows some truth. Facts and being factual is such a small portion of truth. Harry Potter has great truths in it. Dumbledore tells Harry that it's what you choose that makes you who you are. That's a truth. It isn't a fact, but it is a truth. For me, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit are similar in this respect. And yes, I am the freak who reads them annually.

Chapter 1, The Harry Potter Vaccine Reaction by Quinn Barrett, The independent book boom produced a plethora of young adult fantasy fiction franchises, which will forever be remembered as part of the new millennium cultural zeitgeist. Recently after Quinn received her second Covid-19 vaccine, her reaction was to spend the weekend binge-watching the timeless storytelling of the Harry Potter movie series. After watching all eight movies, Quinn dreamed that both Harry Potter and Daniel Radcliffe died. What the hell was that about? Listen in as the group chats about Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, as well as their own personal hero's journey.

Chapter 3, Little Walks to Nowhere by Rebecca Gross, Cooking and walking were both necessary survival skills physically and mentally over the last year, especially if you wanted to avoid the dreaded "Covid-19 Pounds" phenomena. For a lot of us "shelter-in-place" meant some incredible meals, but our exercise routines were severely limited with gym and yoga studio closures. Walking and hiking offered some alternatives but also typified a general loss of freedom in terms of accessibility and non-crowded spaces in which to roam and explore. Ironically, you could be alone for interminable periods indoors but finding solitude in nature has been a challenge.

Chapter 2, Hair, Laundry, and Dishes by Quinn Barrett, Have you ever had a less than stellar at-home haircut and suffered from the evidence of the hair catastrophe for years in family pictures. Compromise and humility are just a couple of the life lessons we've received courtesy of the pandemic. And what about cleanliness? Surviving a year of uber tidiness and purification has been exhausting. Will the long-lasting effects of Covid convert us all into a society of anal-retentive clean freaks? Maybe not. These are the true confessions of a normally ordered life that has struggled with an inner rebellion, which is manifesting in subpar laundry and dishwashing practices.