Nineteen degrees that feels like seven with a thirteen-mile-per-hour wind. Our pond is freezing over. Winter brings both a sense of calm and quiet serenity and a pervasive feeling of unease and distress. Snow and ice are lovely to look at and treacherous for we senior citizens to walk upon. I am reminded of a little over five years ago when I fell in December and broke four ribs. I laugh when I see actors portray characters in movies who fight and receive horrible physical abuse and later comment that they are fine…they then comment with a smile, ‘I only cracked some ribs.’ Cracked ribs are no picnic!

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, has told an untruth to his constituents…or as I used to hear…lied to their faces… regarding his being present at a ‘Drinks Party’ that was in violation of his own governments’ lockdown rules surrounding our Pandemic. ‘Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules, that the event in question was something that wasn’t a work event,’ the prime minister told Sky News on Tuesday.’ Now, this is nothing new to we Americans…as we are accustomed to lies from our political leaders. However, it raises the question that I have often asked myself as to if our leaders really believe that we are so mediocre that we do not realize when they are telling us a bald-faced lie…without impunity?

Living in the moment has been on my mind more of late. We tend to look to the future for our reward…or to wish the ‘good old days’ would revisit us. We are firmly planted in the midst of a kaleidoscope of the panorama of possibilities…at this moment. We had Boston Terrier dogs for over 30 years. I marveled at their innate ability to live in the moment. They were happy with their existence in time…and each joy was brand new… Whenever I returned home from work or an errand…they greeted me like they had not seen me in a week. We humans are blessed and cursed with a big brain that is always on… Often when we are counting sheep to aid in our falling to sleep…we wonder if the sheep have done the grocery shopping… or what they are going to purchase for their new house…that they have yet to build…

Centering is vital to our happiness. Focus is the key to accomplishing anything worthwhile. A sense of place provides us with purpose. ‘Centering is a technique whose aim is to focus attention and energy, to provide relief from stress and anxiety, or both. In other instances, at the point of concentration, negative thoughts and emotions are released and positive thoughts and emotions are encouraged…’ APA Dictionary of Psychology