On the Way Home from Tuesday Night Yoga Practice at William Penn House
New Year. Super moon.

New Year. Super moon.

I used to note the first day of winter as a marker of the long, cold and dark season ahead. Now I mark the first day after the solstice as the an opening to the light. In only a few weeks, even though the weather will be wintry, the days will be noticeably longer. This time of year, I walk on the sunny side of street and choose the middle of the day to be outside, in contrast to summer, when I walk in the morning or late afternoon on the shady side of the street. When I went out at midday for a long walk, the light was almost blindingly bright. The blazing sun seemed that much more of a treasure for the cold blustering wind and the shortness of the day. That the light was so clear and vivid seemed an apt reminder that going through periods of cold and dark can clear us for newly illuminated paths if we are only open to the sources of illumination — inside and out.
Today was the day at the Department of Labor for those with last names starting with the letters F-L to get a flu vaccine, including the infamous H1N1.
I mostly don’t feel a need for a flu shot for myself. I’d rather rely on daily outdoor walks regardless of the season, a healthy diet, adequate sleep virtually every night, yoga asana, meditation, regular massage, and washing my hands frequently and generally keeping them away from my face.
But I’m going to visit my mother in a rehabilitation facility where she is recovering from a severely broken leg. If, for a few days of discomfort and a half hour out of my day, I could reduce the risk of being a carrier or being unable to visit, it made sense to go ahead.
Also weighing in favor of the vaccine, though insufficient reason alone, is that in order to yield the expansion of my horizons that is possible from a return trip to India, I will be enduring the stress on my immune system from the travel.