Category: Opinion

It Should Be Easy…

I’ve been writing since I was very young. In fact, my mother recently turned over a short story I apparently wrote when I was about 10-years old that was set in the future. The feelings of nostalgia that came over me when I saw that bundle and actually read the content… My writing skills have evolved significantly since then and I started blogging a few years ago when I needed something to keep my writing sharp. With 1,193 publicized posts, 800 of which have been in a row without skipping a day, people have often asked me how I managed to write and post that often. My response is usually that it hasn’t been easy, although it should be…

My blog is pretty diverse, containing material that encapsulates Diabetes, Fitness&Health, martial arts and the Buddha Dharma as main topics. I enjoy sharing aspects of my family life, especially my children, since unlike me, they were born into the technological and it will be cool for them to look back at this blog in a few decades and recognize that their old man contributed to the world in some way that may not have been aware of. But despite this diversity of topics, I sometimes find myself stuck for ideas on what to write about.

Oh, there will always be SOMETHING I can find on one of the topics listed here and there’s also the possibility of recycling some of my own materials since enough time has passed that not only is it still relevant but newer followers may not have read it yet. I would likely have an easier time of things if, like many of my counterparts, I didn’t post every single day. And it’s been difficult getting help; I have frequently asked people I know for ideas, interviews and post materials that would be relevant to my blog. One good example is the recent series I wrote on some karate colleagues who provided some short answers on why they joined the art. But for the most part, even the ones who say they will provide something, don’t.

Another difficulty I’ve faced, is having some people comment or pick my posts apart. I think a critical thing to remember is that this is a blog for people’s reference and entertainment. Even when I post about something medical, I make a point of slipping a disclaimer in there to consult one’s doctor. And the rest is just purely for fun (there’s a reason why I swear and cut loose in most of these). But there are still those who seem to find it necessary to point things out, correct my content or analyze things, ad nauseam.

Maybe it’s simply become the way of the world or maybe some people just have more more time on their hands. I remember writing frequently in some of my earliest posts that if one did not like the content they were looking at, they didn’t need to comment; they just simply scroll on by. in fact, I wrote an entire post about trolls and commenters and the effect they have, all the way back in January of 2020 (you can read that post here). But people seem to feel the need to insert their opinion or comments whenever someone else expresses themselves or writes creatively.

We see this same trend in movies now, where people will dedicate entire reddit posts to fan theories behind storylines or movie plots or will pick apart movies and explain why “they don’t make sense” or why a certain thing couldn’t have happened the way it did in the movie. In my day and through my youth, we watched shows and movies for entertainment. After all, that’s what they’re for… We didn’t analyze the fact that the spaceship would never be capable of flight in real life or that physics wouldn’t allow that superhero to perform that heroic feat. it didn’t matter. The whole point to all of it is to entertain and enjoy.

I’ve been writing this blog for a number of years now and am slowly rounding the corner on 500 followers, with a number of others who read it for fun without necessarily following. I don’t see myself stopping, which means getting used to some level of unsolicited, unnecessary advice and comments. As a society, we should have evolved and grown to be better than that but ultimately, it’s the ones who reward and respond to them that feed the machine. Not so much the ones who write it. Food for thought… ☯️

If I Go To Hell, I Won’t Go Hungry…

Every culture and person has their own conception of hell, whether drawn from descriptions in Holy scriptures or from cultural beliefs and even mainstream media. Some cultures even have multiple hells or different levels thereof. But some people will often joke about how some situations or tangible locations would be their own personal hell. For me, that place would be Costco. If I died and went to hell, I’m pretty confident I’d land squarely in the middle of a fucking Costco. Allow me to explain…

First, I should probably clarify that i don’t actually hate Costco. In fact, I very much love Costco. A can of energy drink that retails at $3.69 at the corner store for $1.40 instead? Yes, please! And it isn’t always the lower cost on an item, since some of their prices are no better and in some cases higher, than other retail locations. But the fact you can get some of that stuff in bulk is also a significant draw, and usually results in my filling my cart with a few hundred dollars’ worth of items when I only intended on grabbing a couple of small things.

No, the issue I have with going there is the people who shop. I altered my work schedule recently in order to make an unplanned trip out to our city’s only Costco location. I got off of work early and drove out, thinking that since the work day hadn’t ended for most people yet, it should be pretty quiet. Boy, was I wrong. The place was packed, which usually triggers a whole bunch of acronyms in my behaviour, not least of which is the fact that I dislike being held up by large crowds and being surrounded.

My journey began with a walk through the liquor portion of the warehouse. In a hilarious irony, someone was providing free samples of beer. I accepted a half ounce of cerveza, which was delicious and light. I thought my shopping trip would be smooth and easy. Problematically, people who shop there always seem to move like a decomposing zombie horde, moving with the kind of speed the one would expect to see a snail, tree sap or a tax refund move at. And this is the part that drives me batty because for the most part, even when I don’t know what I’m in there for, which is pretty rare, I move briskly and get through the store in due time.

Meanwhile, everyone else leans on the handle of their cart, moving about slowly, casually glancing about and acting as though they can’t see me even when I ‘ahem’ and cough loudly next to them. I especially love the ones that are blocking the way through a certain area and staring at a single item for a full two minutes. Dude, either grab the item or don’t and get the fuck out of the way!!! Seems like a pretty simply concept, right? And then we even make eye contact, they see someone waiting to get by and they just turn away and keep gawking.

Having me navigate the shopping warehouse is not without its comedy for anyone who may be watching or who knows me. That’s why I said if I go to hell, I wouldn’t go hungry. There’s tons of food there. But I can see hell being something where I’m trapped in a crowd of slow-moving people who refuse to hurry up or get out of the way. The good news is a got a couple of flats of energy drinks at an incredibly reduced price, so it made the journey worth it. ☯️

Another Day Off…

Sometimes I get a little cheeky in my writing because you have to admit, there are a lot of weird and strange holidays out there… When you consider things like National Hugging Day, Donut Day and as much as I get a kick out of the gimmick of it, Star Wars Day (May the 4th), it’s easy to see how holidays have become a bit of a staple of society. Social media posts are always filled with tons of posts about these holidays. But once in a while you get one that’s official and it usually isn’t as recognized as some of the goofy ones.

Today is Victoria Day in Canada. For those if you from elsewhere who may not be familiar with the monarchy that oversees Canada, Queen Victoria was the grandmother of King George V, who was subsequently the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, the current reigning monarch. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. In 1845, Queen Victoria’s birthday was declared a national holiday in Canada. Upon her death 1901, an act of parliament declared it as a legal holiday. In modern days, it’s used as an excuse to go away for a long weekend.

Having a three-day weekend is always a catch-22 for me… Although it’s great to have an added day off to kick back, relax and do whatever, it’s also an added day of work to catch up on, once I return to the office. Plus, it makes the remainder of the work-week shorter, meaning there’s less time to get certain tasks done. This pretty much undoes any of the relaxation I may get from being off today. But that kind of sounds like a “tomorrow me” problem… For now, time for some caffeine and to actually enjoy the added day. Hope everyone got to do something pleasant for their long weekend! ☯️

A Review: Rambo Last Blood (Major Spoilers)

I was born in the late 1970’s, which made me an unfortunate child of the 80’s without reaching my true teen years until the 90’s. if I’m being true to myself, which I always like to do, I got the best of everything. I grew up during the decades with the best music, the best technological innovation and the best movies. Not that we don’t have significant and fantastic technological advancements now. But I was there to use 8-track tapes and marvel as they were miniaturized into cassettes. Then I marvelled and nearly blinded myself with the wonder that was compact discs. I’ve seen movies on beta, followed by VHS and DVD, long before streaming services became a thing. One could say I’m a bit of a historian, in that respect…

When I was but a wee lad, i sat through a slow-moving yet captivating film called “First Blood.” Released in 1982, First Blood told the story of a Vietnam War vet who mustered out of the military and came home after his service. With no known family and nowhere to go, he sought out his old unit compatriots, only to discover they were all dead and gone. He wanders through a small town where he’s discriminated base don his appearance by the local sheriff and all hell breaks loose as he delivers military-grade justice against the sheriff’s department and the entire area as a whole.

As a 5-year old boy in the 1980’s, it was everything I could expect it to be. It had guns, shootouts and action, without much of the gore and violence that would actually be expected from such a movie. Having been born a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, I can’t say that I fully understood the implications of what I was watching. Having a grandfather as a War World II veteran taught me a few things, however. The film series saw sequels released in 1985 and 1988, respectively, with the former covering a return to Vietnam and the later being the conflict between Russia and Afghanistan. Despite critic reviews, I felt all three movies were fantastic and fit perfectly into the perspective I had of the action movie genre.

It wouldn’t be until a year before I joined the Force that they would release “Rambo” in 2008, which saw the titular character venture into a war-torn jungle to rescue Christian missionaries who were capture by insurgents. Considering all of these movies star Sylvester Stallone and he isn’t getting any younger, one would be inclined to think that perhaps it would be time to set down the compound bow and let Rambo lie where he was left; much like “Rocky Balboa,” where the titular character fights one final time and then has the god graces to bow out. Even in the recent Creed movies, Balboa takes more of a secondary role.

Apparently, the gun-toting, blade-wielding Rambo needed one last hurrah in Rambo:Last Blood. This final chapter (that we know of, so far) sees the titular character settled down in Arizona, having raised a young Mexican girl as his niece. He runs a small ranch with a bunch of bunker-style tunnels built beneath the surface and when the niece decides she needs to find her deadbeat father in Mexico, all hell breaks loose when Rambo has to go to Mexico to rescue her, only to have her die on the way home. When Mexican cartels come knocking, he’s ready and delivers Rambo-style justice in a way only an 80’s action hero could.

It has its fair share of cheesiness but it’s a good flic, with a fair share of gratuitous violence and gun play, as well as some imaginative traps and obstacles placed by the titular character. That last part is a bit surprising, since in previous sequels, Rambo mostly depended on shooting his way out of most situations. But in this one, he actually plans ahead and sets traps, which is a significant change. One could almost surmise that he’s gained some insight in his golden years and uses that to his advantage.

He takes a couple of wounds during the final battle, which is expected of a Rambo movie but I genuinely thought these wounds would be the end of him. And maybe they were. the movie ends with him riding off into the horizon on horseback, which could easily be symbolism for him passing away. Who knows? Maybe it’s up to the viewer to use their imagination. I’ve written about remakes, reboots and sequels decades after the fact on a number of different occasions. Depending on the movie, my opinions differ. A part of me is always happy to nostalgically relive the glory days of kick-ass movies. The logical part of me thinks Hollywood should develop an original idea.

All of that being said, if you’re looking to relive the glory days of classic action movies, Rambo: Last Blood may be right for you. Although the tone and gore of the movie may bot be right for some of modern society’s more tender sensibilities, it can still appeal to the remainder of my generation. I highly recommend it, if you’re looking for an easy, action-base watch on a slow evening. And best of all, it’s only an hour and a half long. considering the popular trend these days is to make movies two hours or longer, it even allows my generation to hit the sack all that much earlier. ☯️

If it Isn’t Hard, Is It Even Worth Doing?

I read an interesting quote by Ashton Kutcher, of all people, that says, “If it doesn’t seem insurmountable, how is it going to be a life purpose?” An interesting quote and deep meaning behind it, confirming my opinion that knowledge and wisdom can come from any source. Of course, as some of my readers would and have pointed out, a quote is only as good as the confirmation of its source. Realistically, unless one is in a position to actually speak to the source to confirm the quote’s accuracy, it’s up in the air. However, that makes the words no less true. But I digress…

The point and purpose is to speak about those “insurmountable” goals and life purposes and how you can get past the BELIEF that they’re insurmountable. When I look back at my life, I recognize that some of the goals and purposes I planned for myself seemed impossible at the time. Considering I’ve achieved almost everything I set out to do in life, it almost seems laughable that I was as concerned as I was that I would REACH those goals. But Everest always looks insurmountable until you’re touching the flags at the top, right?

When I was younger and I stepped into a dojo for the first time, my health was waning, I had no support from the outside on my choice to start training and I believed my life would end before I reached my late teens. That first class was among one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, considering my blood sugars dropped, I had no physical constitution and the workout was gruelling for those who had been there for a while so you can probably imagine how difficult it was for me. But like taking that first step up the mountain, completing that first class paved the way for me to push froward and reach my goals. The same can be said of most things in life.

It’s important that goals and purposes be difficult. Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight. If you can simply coast through to the finish line, it technically isn’t a race, right? But while contemplating that thought, it’s important to bear in mind that difficulty is a subjective thing. Maybe walking ten minutes to the corner store is a fuckin’ joke to me and I don’t consider it exercise, despite walking for twenty minutes, round trip. But someone else may have difficulties in mobility, health issues and other problems that make walking for twenty minutes a significant challenge. This means that it’s important never to judge someone else on their chosen goals, even if they may seem like less to you.

Another important quote that I like, in case y’all haven’t noticed that I love quotes, is attributed to Muhammed Ali who said, “Often it isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out, it’s the little pebble in your shoe.” Getting started and building one’s momentum is what will usually get you there and accomplishing your goals. Just remember that when it gets hard, and it will, that’s normal. If it isn’t hard, it isn’t worth doing. The easy path isn’t challenging. Food for thought… ☯️

Quit Apologizing…

Society is very much divided into two parts; those who seem compelled to apologize for everything they do and those who seem to feel they are entitled to the moon and all its sand without any thought or care of others. This is a pretty broad generalization, I admit, and many people fall somewhere in between of those two extremes. But for the most part, it’s pretty accurate, based on my observations.

Some people feel compelled to apologize for every day things, even if they’ve done nothing wrong. This can be a problem, bordering on the annoying, especially when it hinders conversation or required actions on the apologizer’s behalf. I recently read a really good post about things we should all stop apologizing for. They made some really good points and some of them were even funny. I thought I would share my list of top things I feel people should stop apologizing for…

Saying No: This is a big one for me, because people have a tendency to want to avoid awkwardness and try and please others. Not always, minds you but in most cases. More often than not, people will be afraid of saying no to something, either at work or in their personal lives, in order to avoid confrontation or having to explain themselves. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to say no. If you’re unable or even simply in wanting to do a particular thing, you have every right to say no and it isn’t something you should be apologizing for.

Being Sick/Ill: Another big one in my life, given how I grew up. There’s nothing worse than calling in sick or being absent due to illness and feeling you need to apologize for it. Recovering from any illness isn’t something you need to say you’re sorry about and you shouldn’t feel bad about taking the time you need to recover. I know many employers will sometimes take issue when an employee calls in sick. And some family or friends may often feel slighted if you tell them you aren’t meeting them because you’re feeling unwell. But self-care is importantly and these parties likely wouldn’t appreciate it if you spread your sickness among them.

Being Wrong: This is important because no matter what side of the argument you fall on, we’re all human and we’ll have times when we’ll be wrong about SOMETHING. It’s the height of ignorance to assume that one is always right. But even if you’re wrong about something, it’s okay to acknowledge that you were wrong, it’s important to recognize that you were wrong, if it has affected someone else. But you’re human; you shouldn’t have to apologize for making a mistake.

There are likely many more and I’m sure you can all think of some I haven’t named. These are just the top ones that grate on me when someone apologizes for it. The article I read (I wasn’t able to find it to link it, SORRY) had included passing gas… Effectively, people in a couple should stop apologizing when they pass gas in front of each other, since it’s GOING to happen as a natural function of the human body. There was more to it than that but I thought it was hilarious.

Don’t feel the need to apologize for every little thing you do. If you feel that something is a problem, then work to fix the problem. This will go much farther than saying you’re sorry for it. And if it’s something that relates to your health or self-care, you should never have to apologize for the choices you make. After all, how can you help or take care of others if you haven’t taken care of yourself, first? Food for thought… ☯️

Friday The 13th

Friday the 13th was a pretty big deal when I was a kid. Either you used it as an excuse for all the bad luck you experienced that day, or you were a fan of the horror movie franchise and could usually find at least one of them playing late in the evening on local cable (when such a thing was the standard). I fell into the latter category, having snuck into the living room in the middle of the night and watched a VHS tape of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason lives. My father had rented it for himself and I got curious so I did what any typical kid back then; I got up and watched it. It was 10-years old. It was all down hill from there…

The day in particular owes itself to a rather unfortunate history. Some view it as a back luck day while others actually see it as good day. It’s kind of like black cats; everyone seems to think that black cats are bad luck. Unless you’re stuck in the matrix and you view it as being a glitch in the system, there’s nothing that’s bad luck about black cats. The same can be said about Friday the 13th. It was especially horrendous during my law enforcement days when anyone in uniform would dread working it, thinking it would carry some excess of criminal complaints by virtue of the date.

There are many stories from different backgrounds surrounding this date. For myself, I was raised in a Catholic household and one of the stories was that the Last Supper had 13 guests (Christ and his apostles) and that the following day was Good Friday. Although that’s a good story, since the Gregorian calendar wasn’t invented until the late 1500’s, that first Good Friday couldn’t have been dated as such. Who knows, right? I wasn’t there…

There’s another thing I read somewhere in viking lore, where apparently 12 gods were having dinner in Valhalla when an unwanted 13th god snuck in, uninvited. That would be Loki, of course. Not the MCU Loki but the actual Norse god from mythology. While there, Loki killed one of the other gods, causing the world to fall into darkness, which is why the Vikings consider the number 13 to be unlucky. Don’t quote me on any of this, I’m going from memory based on stuff I read a long time ago.

There are similar instances of “unlucky” dates in other countries/societies. For example, the Greeks believe that Tuesday the 13th is an unlucky because it’s associated with their God of War. For the most part, I never noticed an increase in complaints or criminal activity when I was with law enforcement. And despite people’s propensity for thinking there’s some correlation between the date and bad luck, it’s just another day. And as we get older, some superstitions tend to fade away. That’s why it’s Sunday morning and I only JUST realized that we passed a Friday the 13th, the day before yesterday. Go figure…☯️

“That Won’t Work…”

Hmm, how do you know? I hear people say this phrase a lot, especially as it relates to their goals, health, finances and careers. And I don’t necessarily mean the people who may say this because they have actually tried a similar thing and have a REASON for believing it won’t work; I mean the ones who say it won’t before even trying. Those are the dangerous scenarios and the ones that can set an otherwise capable person up for failure.

Fear of failure can be an insidious thing and can cause serious repercussions in a person’s life. Imagine if, all the way back in the late 80’s when my health was waning and there was a very real possibility that side effects of Type-1 Diabetes would end my young life, that I had looked at karate and said, “Mmm, that won’t work…” There’s a very real chance I wouldn’t be writing this post, right now, as I would be dead.

It’s right on par with my parents, who spoke almost those exact words when I finally revealed I was studying karate, despite the fact I had been doing it for a few years at that point and my health had improved ten-fold. I’ve often had students who have had this unfortunate belief, where they’d walk into the dojo and start training but as they saw what would eventually be expected of them, chose to give up rather than try and make something work.

The important thing to remember is that nothing is impossible. Does that mean that YOU will necessarily be capable of it? Maybe not. But there’s a big difference between something being impossible and something being beyond your capabilities. The key is recognizing that difference. And there’s nothing stopping you from actually trying to. Remember, there’s a huge, HUGE difference between “failing” and “being a failure.”

Failing at something means you tried. It means lessons have been learned, important lessons, that you can carry forward into the next thing you do or try. And although something may be out of your range or capabilities, this doesn’t make it impossible. It simply means you may have to examine other options. As the old saying goes, you’re not a failure unless you fail to try.

One of my favourite quotes, ironically, doesn’t come from a philosopher or teacher, not one of my instructors or a literary source (technically). No, one of my all-time favourite quotes about failure is from the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek, The Next Generation. In a certain episode, he says, “It is possible to commit no mistake and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” Important words from the most unexpected source. ☯️

Get A Problem, Solve A Problem…

Life can be difficult to navigate, especially when you stack financial, familial and work-related responsibilities into the mix. Many people actually hit the pillow from exhaustion at night but can’t sleep. Even when the body is tired, the mind keeps churning and it can play hell on your health and one’s wellbeing. And I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you how stress over long periods of time can cause all sorts of health-related issues, as well.

Stress and exhaustion will lead to poor performance and results, which stresses you out further, which leads to less rest and eventually trying to cope through some rather unhealthy means. The thing is, life will give you deadlines. It almost impossible to avoid; certain parts of your life will require results within a certain period of time. Makes sense, right? It would be great if one could make your way through life at your own pace but some things simply won’t wait. So way stress over it?

The obligations and deadlines won’t disappear but the stress can. I may be oversimplifying it and making it seem easy but it can be done. Once one acknowledges that work will continue to come and you simply need to remain consistent and committed, the stress will begin to melt away. The other important aspect is to recognize that there are periods of time where you simply CAN’T do anything about the tasks waiting for you the next morning. Thinking about it and stressing over it during your down hours does nothing for you. AND it takes away your down hours.

Work and responsibility won’t go away. So when you get home at night and have some time that isn’t work, take the time to relax and enjoy that time. Your health will thank you, your soul will thank you and it will go a long way towards reducing the suffering in your own life. And it’s much easier to help others once you’ve helped and healed yourself. Food for thought… ☯️

Never A Smooth Journey…

Lack of education is a consistent problem within medical circles, meaning that many people view certain illnesses through a lens that’s not befitting or may not be appropriate to the actualities that a sufferer feels. One good example are all these videos you see on line where someone will approach a driver parking in a handicap spot and start betraying them Fort parking there, despite having a handicap placard. The ‘complainer” has no fuckin’ clue what internal issues that person may be dealing with, but they always seem to assume they shouldn’t be parking there.

The same can be said of Diabetes… When I was first diagnosed with type-1 Diabetes, I can easily admit that I thought very little about it, other than the fact I was getting free food while in the hospital. To my credit, I was only 4-years old at the time but even as I got a bit older, the innocence of childhood kept me rooted in the belief that nothing would happen to me because, well, I was a kid! And bad things don’t happen to kids, right? Oh, I was so wrong…

Throughout my life, I’ve gotten some of the worst comments about my Diabetes. Any of you who have read previous posts will already be aware that telling me that “it could be worse” is without a doubt one of my biggest pet peeves. What an absolute verbal slap in the face, to tell someone with a life-long autoimmune disorder that has no cure and debilitates, that it could be worse… Sure, I know it could. But that doesn’t make my journey any less difficult.

I have no illusions that Diabetes is alone in that arena but the reality is that there are a number of issues that a person with Type-1 faces that anyone external looking in may not notice. One good example, and likely the best, is the lack of access to insulin. For most people, they’re of the impression that so long as you eat well and take insulin, Diabetes pretty much leaves you alone. unfortunately, this is about as far from the truth as one can get…

Insulin is required for more than just controlling blood sugars. The reality is that prior to the creation and wide distribution of insulin, someone with type-1 Diabetes usually only lived for about 10 to 14 days, at most. Diabetic Ketoacidosis would kick in and the patient would soon succumb. That’s why I always have a bit of a laugh when someone says, “Why don’t you just eat completely carb-free to and exercise to keep blood sugars down?” Ah, if only it were that easy.

So, here’s problem: what if you can’t easily access or afford insulin? What do you do? Just curl up and wait to die, I guess? Not a year goes by that I don’t read about the rising costs of insulin and how some people will go to such extremes measures as ordering insulin over Amazon or crossing borders to get it cheaper in another country. Imagine that? besides feeding and supporting a family and trying to make a life, yo-yo need to wonder where your next shot of life-sustaining hormone will come from? It’s through that lens that I write this post today.

I’ve lived through periods where I had to choose between buying food to get me through the week or splurging on a bottle of insulin to stay alive, albeit while starving. I’ve dealt with having to ration and manage how much insulin I used, stretching a single vial to twice or even three times it’s intended capacity, in order to make it to that next paycheque that would let me get another bottle. I’ve also dealt with failing health care systems that don’t acknowledge the fact that like many other illnesses, this isn’t going away, it’s for life and that life will dramatically shortened if I don’t have the benefit of proper medical attention and the medications I need to live.

These days, I’m pretty fortunate and I count my lucky stars because I’m in the employ of a career that provide medical coverage for everything I need. The insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring has been a life-altering option that’s almost guaranteed to have added years to my life. Not everyone is as fortunate, which is why when I post about nasty side effects, the negative side of Diabetes and how I’m just tired of it all, it’s done for educational purposes and not necessarily to complain.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way… Although life has had some rough climbs, over jagged rocks and while barefooted, I’ve managed and fought my way through. Life is worth it and only by fighting for it can one keep a grasp on it, however tenuous… I may look healthy, I may eat well, live reasonably well, exercise and maintain myself but make no mistake; beneath the veneer of all my efforts lies a tumultuous storm of complications that I’m keeping at bay. And the first time I fall asleep at the helm could be all it takes. Food for thought… ☯️