Appelbaum Wellness LLC

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What’s on my mind….I’m sick and tired of discussing Covid-19!!

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Conversations in the past 6 months have been about one of two things: Covid-19 or politics. I am so sick and tired of talking about both of those topics. No matter what is said it has not changed our current reality. As a change of pace, let’s focus on something fresh in today’s post.

Let’s face it, life is going to remain closed (or semi-closed) for a while. As places try to re-open, I am hesitant to make a habit of going ‘out’ in fear of getting sick. I choose to remain sheltered in place as much as possible. Thanks to having to be home due to my personal choices, I have had to get creative in keeping myself busy. How about you? And what new things have happened in your life?

As for me, I began the long arduous process of cleaning out my house. I have lived in my house for 13 years and have so much stuff that I have not looked at in years. It is a perfect time to purge! Every week I fill the garbage and recycle bins. And once they are empty, I start again. I go room by room, closet by closet, drawer by drawer. Some days I get a lot accomplished, others not so much…and that’s okay. I am making headway. I even collected 10 grocery bags filled with old documents and took them to be shred. $60 and 15 minutes later, I felt very free and light!

I’ve always been a cook but never a baker. In the past several months I have perfected baking banana bread (although never bake when there is a storm and you must seek shelter in the basement. It is inevitable the loaf will end up dry as a bone, over-cooked while tornado sirens blare in the distance.) My mom also taught me how to bake challah and my first endeavor turned out pretty well. Yum!!

My canasta skills are becoming quite proficient as I play online several times a week. Most recently, my friend who taught me canasta is now teaching me how to play pickleball. That, too, is a very fun game, especially for an ex-tennis player who no longer has the agility or joint mobility to play tennis. I just ordered my own racquet on Amazon and cannot wait to use it.

Thanks to Zoom I have been able to join my brother’s Shakespeare book group. He usually hosts it at his home in Albuquerque but with the pandemic, everything went virtual and I can now happily be a part of the group. It is so fun! Our father always quoted Shakespeare and got us ‘hooked’ when we were young. To revisit the plays and discuss with others is thought-provoking, enlightening, and quite enjoyable. My only regret is that I did not think to invest in Zoom before the pandemic. I guess my crystal ball was on the fritz…darn!

Finally, I am watching more television than usual, catching up on my Netflix and Amazon Prime queues. I am also trying to read more and am now ensconced in Macbeth, the Scottish play, for my Shakespeare group. I try to spend more time on my treadmill or walking outside when weather permits so as not to gain the Covid-19(lbs.). However, where I used to do weight training has gone out of business and I’m hesitant to walk into a gym until there is a vaccine so my muscles will have to suffice with what I am able to do within the confines of my house.

I look forward to hearing what new things you have tried and/or what old things you have revived in this time of being housebound more than usual. Please share here on my blog. In the meantime, be safe and healthy!

Be Present | Be Purposeful | Be Well

What’s on My Mind – Is the World Coming to an End?

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Five months ago, almost to the day, my mother and I began the long, arduous process of sheltering in place. Yes, we have loosened up our restrictions a little bit, but not really all that much. We go out only when necessary (e.g. grocery, pharmacy, doctor appointments) and have minimally socialized outdoors from a distance with a mask. And yes, five months feels like a lifetime and my patience and hopefulness are waning. What do I miss most? Hugging. I miss hugging my mom, my family, and my friends. But is close contact, even with a mask, worth risking my life or theirs? Personally, I think not.

In March, the US had 213 total confirmed cases, 0 new cases the day the statistics were recorded, 11 deaths, and transmission was labeled local. Fast forward to July and the US had 2,973,695 total confirmed cases, 50,263 new cases the day the statistics were recorded, 130,893 deaths, and transmission was labeled community wide. Those numbers are not only staggering, they are unfathomable. And because of this, states that opened up have since closed back up as the numbers continue to rise.

To exacerbate the situation, the news is filled with relentless doom and gloom. Not only are we dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a new strain of swine flu is sweeping China and has the potential to quickly become another world-wide deadly pandemic. Europe has closed its borders to the United States to protect against the spread of the virus, Canada’s border remains closed, and COVID cases and deaths continue to spike. Yet, many people are not practicing social distancing, wearing masks, or taking precautions because they still do not believe this is real or can happen to them. Violence, hatred, bigotry, and social injustice have flared to new heights. And politics have reached a depth of low that I have never seen in my lifetime. With all the chaos it bodes the question, “Is the world coming to an end?”

While binge watching the television shows on my DVR that normally would have been discarded in favor of summer activities, I noticed that in several series beloved characters were killed off at the end of the season. And as they dramatically slowly slipped away, they took stock of their lives and relationships. I found that interesting because I ask ‘why’ all the time; why are we – human beings – here on this planet. I regularly do a mental checklist of sorts in the hopes of ensuring I live a meaningful life as I continually seek my purpose. Do you? I’m curious.

Now that we are, in essence, living our lives as silos instead of the social creatures we are, how do we find meaning in the everyday? What is our purpose if we cannot be ‘out there’ achieving it? And the really big question is, what is the point of humankind’s existence if a virus is going to prohibit the entire world’s population from living versus simply existing?

Although I have no answers to my above random thoughts, I do know one thing. I want to live! I am not ready to throw in the towel and say, “done.” This is why I take precautions even though our government and health officials cannot seem to agree on what specific safety measures actually work. I do not want to suffer, and I don’t want others to suffer. However, if you stop and think about it, perhaps it is suffering that will push us to grow. And maybe, just maybe, the spiritual powers that be felt we were getting too complacent in a world that simply was not working and we needed a shove into the unknown, forcing us to face our fears and grow up.

My book, Be Your Own Superhero, is loosely based on The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell. In both, an average person living a normal life suddenly experiences an event that causes a seismic shift in their life thrusting them into the unknown. This phase is known as the “call to adventure.” As they crossover into the unknown, experiencing trials and tribulations they learn new skills and are sort of reborn as their old self dies. With their newfound revelations they begin the journey out of the unknown, making permanent positive changes while taking their learned lessons with them as they venture back into the known world. They return to the known world with the gift of their knowledge and share it with the world, making everyone and everything better than before.

Perhaps our mission during this pandemic is to each undertake our own Hero’s Journey and discover our own unique gift to share with the world. Perhaps this is our time to look the possibility of the world coming to an end in the face and say, “not today!” and work toward a collaborative effort with our fellow human beings to improve our world for the better. Each of us must take precautions so as not to contract nor spread the virus. And each of us has a moral responsibility to rise as heroes in the fight against social injustice, hate, and violence. What you do matters and creates a profound ripple effect. There is much doom and gloom with few rays of light shining through…but there are those few rays of light. Eventually they will become more numerous and larger. Eventually, this will be history instead of our here and now. And, yes, the world is coming to an end…just not today.

I invite you to share your thoughts as we continue this dialogue.

What’s on my mind…..The Dichotomy of Life

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The Calm

This morning, in preparation of the window cleaners arriving, I opened all the blinds – my house has eleven sliding glass doors as its perimeter. Abundant sunshine flowed in as I stood enjoying the view of the waterfall outside my back-patio window. The complex in which I live is a little oasis in the middle of a busy suburb, miles away from the chaos in the city. Inhaling a deep breath, I felt a sense of calm.

The Chaos

As soon as I turned on the television news to catch up on the day’s headlines while eating breakfast, my calmness transformed to stress. I could feel my jaw clenching as my heart began to race. Anger, sadness, disappointment, and worry enveloped me as politics conflicted with focusing on what is best for the American people – all people, regardless of race, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, age, etc. We are ALL beings that breathe, bleed, cry, laugh, etc. No ONE is greater than the WHOLE. Period. Yet while listening to the news, that is not the overall message I took away.

Social media is filled with posts talking about the importance of history, teachable moments, being kind, justice, and freedom as well as posts that spew hate, unfairness, violence, and superiority. Everyone has an opinion about the other – sides have been drawn and many are stubbornly hunkered down for a fight. I would like to offer my opinion: no one completely understands how a person feels, especially a person of color or religion who has been discriminated against, unless they have proverbially walked in their shoes. I strongly believe that everyone needs to be more open-minded and empathetic while working toward creating a climate that is more just and fair for all.

Create Lasting Change

There is so much hate and anger in our communities fueled by fear. Fear of our differences. If only people embraced our differences and celebrated them, learning from each other so we could all strive to be better while appreciating each other for who we are versus who we think they should be. Thank God there are those who do this. But we need more people to rise as leaders, putting politics aside to enrich our humanity. My concern is how do we get the right people to step up…and who are these “right” people?

My questions are rhetorical and I hope they give you pause. Think about what you can do to make a difference. Voting, donating time or money, and having meaningful conversations is a beginning. What else? Let’s keep this dialogue going within our own social circles in the hopes that the chaos occurring in our communities today are the true tipping point to real, positive, lasting change finally coming to fruition.

Be Present | Be Purposeful | Be Well

Be The Change in the New Year

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Last December I shared some of my philosophy about life. I was in the seven-day mourning period (Shiva) after my father’s death. As I mentioned, he and I shared a deep spiritual bond – believing in Tikkun or our divine mission to contribute to the betterment of our world. He lived by what the prophet Micah said, “All that God asks of you is to be just, love mercy and walk humbly with your Lord,” and taught me to reciprocate the blessings bestowed upon me.

World-wide 2019 has been a chaotic year filled with an over abundance of school shootings, negative political discourse, and a heightened sense of unease regarding safety, financial markets and climate change, to name a few. Everyone seems on edge, quick-tempered and stressed. Many have neglected simple acts of kindness, the importance of community, positivity and being present in the moment. With this in mind, the following story bears repeating:

There must have been a time when you entered a room and met someone and after a while you understood that you had changed the other or he had changed you. By some word or deed or just by your presence the errand had been completed. Then perhaps you were a little bewildered or humbled and grateful. And it was over.

Each lifetime is the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. For some there are more pieces. For others the puzzle is more difficult to assemble.

Some seem to be born with a nearly complete puzzle. And so it goes. Souls going this way and that; trying to assemble the myriad of parts.

But know this. No one has within themselves all the pieces to their puzzle. Like before the days when they used to seal jigsaw puzzles in cellophane. Insuring that all the pieces were there.

Everyone carries with them at least one and probably many pieces to someone else’s puzzle. Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don’t.

And when you present your piece which is worthless to you, to another, whether you know it or not, you are a messenger from the Most High. (Rabbi Larry Kushner)

Interpret this as you wish, however I believe it means all our lives are intertwined and that we each influence the other somehow – even in the smallest of ways. Think about the last time you impacted another, whether through a touch, a smile, a kind word or deed, or simply by being in the same room. How did that make the other person feel? How did it make you feel?

As 2019 ends and you close one chapter to begin another in 2020, I urge you to reflect on how your actions or deeds impact the world for the better as well as what can you do next year to achieve even more. It is within each of us to be active participants in leaving this world better than when we entered. Count your blessings, share them, and live fulfilled. And I challenge you to take this one step further – be remarkable. Stand out from the crowd, stand for what you believe is right and just. Be the change you wish to see in our world.

“He who saves a single life saves the entire world.” – Talmud

Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy, blessed and joyous holiday season.

Pivoting

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Have you ever had a day where you felt like your “get up and go” got up and went? I’ve been feeling like that all summer long. And for the longest time I couldn’t pinpoint as to why I was feeling that way. At first I questioned if I had a virus, then was I depressed, and then it hit me. I had no reason to wake up in the morning and get going. During my father’s last two years of life I had purpose. It was my job to balance my career while helping with his care. After his death, I assisted my mother with all the subsequent necessary tasks.

Now that life is calming down – it’s been almost a year – I have been reflecting on my own satisfaction with what I am doing. To be honest, I love helping my mother navigate her new solo life because it is giving us quality time together that I cherish. However, the thought of trying to get my wellness coaching business back on track after a two-year hiatus is daunting. And to be perfectly honest, I really do not want to devote my time and effort to it anymore.

I’ve been in business as a solopreneur for ten years and it has been a constant battle to get new clients, perpetuating a steady income. Most people want to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle but do not want to pay for it. If insurance covered my services, it wouldn’t be a problem. Sadly, it does not. And in order to keep a thriving business going, I feel like a politician who is constantly campaigning: as soon as I am working with one client, I need to start looking for my next so that I have a steady stream of work.  Honestly, it’s exhausting. For a while I’ve worked with the MS Society and Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Arizona, but both have changed staffing several times and shifted direction regarding messaging and mission. I guess I feel like I don’t fit in anymore with either.

As I let my feelings percolate, I have decided it is time to pivot and add excitement and purpose once again to my daily life. I won’t completely give up working in the wellness arena because I believe it is vital to everyone’s wellbeing. And if I have knowledge that I can share with others to make their lives better, I must do that. However, I am going to shift gears on the topic of my wellness newsletter making it more like a blog post than a newsletter. I will offer tips, thoughts, and perhaps suggestions on living every day as middle-aged woman with a chronic disease as healthfully as possible; preserving its title Live in Wellness Now. I will share my ups and downs, successes and failures. My hope is to keep it real.

In the meantime, I am also going to pursue a potentially new revenue stream. As a child I loved art and graphic design however was discouraged to follow it as a career. Now, as I help my mother plan the renovations on her new condo, I have rediscovered my love of graphic art and am going to explore a certification in interior design. I may take one class and hate it. On the other hand, I may love it and continue through to completion. No matter what I discover, I am excited to be taking a new journey down a road I haven’t traveled in a very long time. Perhaps it’ll spark something in you too and we’ll enjoy the journey together!

BE PRESENT | BE PURPOSEFUL | BE WELL