Keep Calm and Carry-On…with FRED & TM

I remember the first time I read the Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times”. I thought to myself…that’s a very nice sentiment. Then I found out that it is not really a proverb but a curse. My next thought was ‘that’s odd…it should be nice to live in interesting times’. Boy o’ boy…I now totally understand why it’s a curse! Say what you will about the year 2020..it was certainly ‘interesting’! The most contentious election in the life of anyone alive today, the pandemic, lockdowns, 30 million people losing their jobs, social unrest…Whoa…lets bring back the boring times ASAP!

Have no worries, this blog is not about to get political…no doubt you get enough of that from cable news, Facebook and Twitter. On the other hand, its not really possible to completely ignore the political and social backdrop against which we all live. Just because the wider society has gone completely mad, does not mean your personal reality has to be turned upside down. If I may impart a bit of advice about how to ‘Keep calm and carry on’..as the Queen of England is fond of saying (sounds very British, doesn’t it?).

What is this FRED thing? FRED = Fresh Air, Exercise, Vitamin D. Getting out and going for a walk (or bike ride) is wonderful exercise and checks all three boxes….Fresh Air, getting exercise and the exposure to the sun helps your body make vitamin D. Although given how far north of the equator we live, you really should take a Vitamin D supplement (generally 1000-2000 IU daily). If you are wondering where the nearest walking, hiking and bike trails are, there are any number of resources online. This is one I generally use.

TM stands for Transcendental Meditation. I have spoken of TM in the past and it is something that I personally practice. If you would like to get more information about it, this video on YouTube gives a very good overview of the technique and its benefits.

By Dr. Michael Bilof